Tripunithura Taluk Hospital in Kochi is facing a stalled ₹8-crore building project, vacant specialist posts and deteriorating essential facilities, placing additional pressure on a public hospital used by nearly 3,000 outpatients.
Construction of the three-storeyed block began three years after the tender was first issued in 2021. The project was scheduled for completion by January 2025, but only the ground floor has been built. The work has now stalled after funds from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) lapsed because of delays, according to the report.
The unfinished block has left the hospital without the additional capacity planned under the project. With alternative funding now required, former MLA K Babu has allocated ₹3.5 crore for the hospital’s development, while MLA Deepak Joy said he would provide funds from his MLA allocation. Eden has also promised financial assistance, the report said.
The hospital’s staffing position is adding to the strain. Posts for ENT and ophthalmology specialists remain vacant after doctors were transferred. A senior hospital official said only four doctors were available to manage casualty services against a requirement of six. The hospital also does not have a forensic surgeon or a general surgeon, the official said.
The absence of a forensic surgeon is delaying autopsies, according to the official. Joy said he had raised the hospital’s staffing and infrastructure problems with health minister K Muraleedharan and sought the creation of a forensic surgeon’s post. He also said the government would take steps to fill other vacancies, while acknowledging the difficulty of creating the post because forensic surgeons are unavailable.
Physical infrastructure and equipment are also reported to be in poor condition. An unusable ambulance is parked outside the mortuary. Hospital management committee member C Vinod said facilities provided through corporate social responsibility funds and government schemes remain unused. He cited a ₹32-lakh solar panel unit installed about 12 years ago that had not generated electricity.
The hospital has two water connections, but one is dilapidated. According to Vinod, leaks create a risk of drainage water entering the water tank. The condition of the connection raises a basic public-health concern at a facility already managing high outpatient demand.
The immediate administrative task is to identify replacement funding and restart construction of the new block. Authorities must also address the vacant specialist and casualty posts, the absence of a forensic surgeon and general surgeon, and the reported failures involving the ambulance, solar system and water connection. The timelines for restoring these services and completing the building remain to be established.
