Even as the newly built maternity and child health block of Thoothukudi Government Medical College and Hospital, which was inaugurated by former Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on March 7, is agonisingly waiting for the sanctioned men and material, MLA A. Srinath visited this special block on Tuesday evening.

The 650-bed 7-storey structure built with 3.21 lakh sq. ft. on 4.10 acres with an outlay of ₹136.35 crore has been created with Central (60%) and the State (40%) funds. Even though this block was initially sanctioned as a super speciality block, it was later dedicated exclusively to maternal and child health considering huge number of obstetrics and gynaecology and paediatric patients coming to the Thoothukudi Government Medical College and Hospital every day for treatment.

Even though physical structure of this speciality block has been created, it is waiting indefinitely for the sanctioned strength of men and material even after it was opened by Mr. Udhayanidhi Stalin in March.

Of the sanctioned strength of 371 in the hospital, including doctors and the nurses, 123 posts remain vacant in the hospital and 168 positions are vacant in the college against the sanctioned strength of 719.

The maternity and child health block is in need of 533 staff, including 15 doctors, 21 ministerial staff, 110 staff nurses, four matrons, 74 paramedical staff and 314 contract workers for the smooth and effective functioning of this block.

Though ₹15 crore was allocated for procuring medical equipment, only ₹6.50-crore worth equipment have been received so far. And, furniture worth ₹1.35 crore have been supplied against the allocation of ₹2 crore.

“We are in need of 7 pharmacists, 15 lab technicians, 5 operation theatre technicians, 4 anaesthesia technicians, 5 manifold technicians, 5 blood bank technicians, 10 female nurse assistants, 10 data entry operators, 4 radiographers, 2 echo technicians, 4 sterilization operators and 314 multi-purpose workers like sanitary workers, securities, supervisors etc. We’re waiting for these personnel to make this special block’s functioning effective and meaningful,” a senior doctor told the MLA, who went around this new block.

Even after the V.O.C. Port had sponsored a vehicle to transport patients from the hospital’s old building near the District Court Complex to the new block at the Third Mile and vice versa for investigations and opinions, the Department of Public Health is yet to sanction even diesel and appoint drivers for the vehicle.

Similarly, 4 or 5 cooks in this special block’s kitchen, which was built by Thoothukudi Corporation under ‘Namakku Naamey Scheme’, are yet to be appointed and the kitchen vessels, boilers and so on are not yet procured. There is no allocation of fund for procurement of provisions for preparing food for the patients in this new block.

While 4 or 5 washermen are needed to wash the hospital clothes, only 2 are working now.

“Against this backdrop, the maternity and child health block has been opened even before the doctors, ministerial staff, staff nurses and so on are appointed. The hi-tech diagnostic equipment are also yet to be received. Precisely, the skeletal structure is waiting for the sanctioned strength of men and material. I’ll take up this issue with the officials concerned and get things done at the earliest,” Mr. Srinath said after inspecting the maternity and child health block.

The MLA was informed during the visit that the CT scan reports are given to the patients only after 15 days of investigations.