Kovilpatti Government Hospital lacks proper roads within the campus and as a result, inpatients, who are taken on a stretcher find it harrowing, said Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) principal secretary and Lok Sabha MP Durai Vaiko.

Speaking to media persons on Friday, he said that he visited the GH on an invitation from the Municipal Chairman R. S. Ramesh.

Accompanied by the Municipal Commissioner, he went around the GH and found that it was the second biggest facility used by the public in Thoothukudi district, next to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Thoothukudi.

Though there were 413 beds and 50 more beds were recently included, infrastructural facilities were far from satisfactory. A new building with 25,000 square feet carpet area was getting ready in the GH, but the hospital does not have permanent Cardiologist, Nephrologist and Neurologist, the doctors said during interaction.

Though there was an exclusive ward for Autism patients, the post of occupational therapist and speech therapist was lying vacant. Permanent posting of trained and qualified personnel would benefit the patients, Mr Durai Vaiko said.

The GH had eight dialysis machines, but it was insufficient. The hospital required at least another 10 dialysis units as there were large number of patients seeking the facility. Private hospitals charged high rates for dialysis and patients, who had to undergo dialysis thrice a week, felt the pinch.

The MP recalled that in 2022, he had given a memorandum for installation of an MRI scan facility in the GH. However, the authorities had not executed till date, he said and explained that the patients had to travel to Thoothukudi GH.

The employees at the Rehabilitation wing in the Differently-Abled ward said that they had not received salaries for the last two months. Such pendency would motivate them to be absent, which may affect the patients, he added.

The government offices in Ward 21 in the Kovilpatti Municipality housed the office of Deputy Collector, BSNL, court, police department, sub-jail, and government girls school and among others. However, the bad roads led to freak mishaps and elders visiting these offices were put to untold hardships. “At least, I get an impression that the last time the road was laid may have been a decade ago,” he said.

The MP said that he would soon visit the PWD and Health and Family Welfare Ministers and ensure that the demands and grievances were redressed within a month’s time.