Dakshina Kannada Member of Parliament Captain Brijesh Chowta said on Thursday that the construction of a new critical care block at Government Wenlock Hospital here will be completed in a month.

The two-floor block is being constructed at a cost of ₹24 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM). Of the ₹24 crore, ₹16.63 crore is shared by the Union Government, while remaining ₹7.37 crore is borne by the State government.

The Wenlock Hospital Superintendent, D.S. Shivaprakash, said the critical care block is being constructed to provide all treatment services to patients during critical health situations like COVID. The new block will have 16 ICU beds, two labour and delivery and recovery wards, two beds each for dialysis and for maternity and child health, respectively. The drug store will be in the basement of the building. The construction started in December 2024.

Dr. Shivaprakash said under the scheme, ₹6 crore has been sanctioned for the procurement of equipment. The government has sanctioned 24 healthcare personnel for the new block.

The new Integrated Public Health Laboratory, also being constructed under PM-ABHIM in the hospital premises at a cost of ₹1.11 crore, will be operational in a month. Tender has been finalised for the construction of a 74-bed general ward and Central Sterile Supply Department on the 4th and 5th floors of the hospital’s medicine block. The State government has released ₹34 crore for building the new OPD block, Dr. Shivaprakash told the MP.

Mangaluru City South MLA D. Vedavyasa Kamath asked Dr. Shivaprakash to submit a proposal to the government for handing over the portion of the road passing between the Administration and OPD Blocks to the Wenlock Hospital. This portion of land was required for unhindered movement of patients between the two blocks, he said.