The newly sworn-in United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Kerala has announced its intention of setting up two more medical colleges in the State, one in Thiruvananthapuram, which already has a medical college, and another one in Haripad, in Alappuzha.

UDF leaders view the second medical college project in Thiruvananthapuram, which was originally launched during the tenure of Congress Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, as a prestige issue as the subsequent governments of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) shot the plan down for political reasons. The Congress, which is back in power in the State after a decade, is bent on resurrecting its lost dream, which it believes would increase its public appeal and political stake in the capital city. K. Muraleedharan, the State Health Minister, has made it clear that nothing could prevent the UDF government from creating two more such institutions.

Those who argue for the two medical colleges say that there is little scope for expanding the facilities at the existing Thiruvananthapuram and Alappuzha colleges. The government is toying with the idea of converting existing hospitals into tertiary care and research centres, they say.

Interestingly, the second medical college in Thiruvananthapuram, which would be set up by developing the General Hospital, is located in the Vattiyoorkavu Assembly constituency, which is represented by Mr. Muraleedharan. Similarly, Harippad, the seat of the proposed second medical college, is represented by Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, the second-in-command in the State cabinet.

Like in Thiruvananthapuram, the proposed medical college in Harippad could well be considered as the second such institution in the coastal district of Alappuzha, as the first one is functioning at Vandanam, located almost an hour away from the constituency of the Home Minister.

Desperate conditions

Kerala, along with other States, had joined a campaign of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare a few years ago to have new medical colleges in all its districts. It appears that the State Health Minister has overlooked the fact that Kerala has one medical college each in all of its 14 districts, and that many of them, which were inaugurated at least a decade ago, are still in their nascent stage. With little infrastructure, an insufficient number of teaching faculty and support staff, and a large number of patients, some of the medical colleges in the less developed regions of the State need support desperately.

The government’s move to have one more medical college in the two districts seems to be a case of misplaced priorities with respect to public health. Several public health experts have been sounding the alarm that the famed public healthcare model of Kerala could collapse at any moment due to the tremendous pressure under which the system is functioning, and the lack of adequate government patronage in the form of timely recruitment of staff, financial support, and upgradation of facilities. While setting up new institutions may earn the government brownie points, it could come at the expense of the existing institutions of the State.

It is also time for the State government to ponder why the younger generation of doctors are turning away from medical colleges. Besides the comparatively poor pay, lack of modern research and medical facilities, and the uncertainties of transfers and political interventions in the service, might be acting as a deterrent for such youngsters. The medical and the non-medical staff are being overworked in these hospitals, which has hit the efficiency and quality of the services offered to the general public.

During the second term of the LDF government, it was the Health Ministry that came under severe public criticism. From building collapses to doctors taking to social media to vent out their despair regarding the absence of essential facilities including surgical materials for performing crucial surgeries, shortage of medicines, wrong diagnoses and complaints of medical negligence, the crisis in the health sector played a significant part in turning public opinion against the previous government.

Strengthening the existing network of public healthcare institutions, and not building new ones, should be the priority at this juncture in the State.