What comes to your mind when you think of government hospitals? In all its probability, poor infrastructure and the dull environment is all one could think of. The Kannur public healthcare system is working to change this notion.
At the beginning of March, a new Children’s ward was inaugurated in Kannur. Understanding that hospital visit for anybody, more so for children is not a pleasant experience, this is a small attempt to make it as comfortable as possible.
New children’s ward
The new children’s ward at the Government District Hospital in Kannur was developed under the initiative of the hospital authorities with help from the district panchayat. Kannur District Collector posted the pictures of the newly inaugurated ward, saying “Hope fewer and fewer kids use it though” while applauding the efforts of the concerned authorities.
Dr Rajeevan, the hospital Superintendent and administrator, along with his team of four other doctors made this possible. While speaking to The Logical Indian, Dr Rajeevan said, “A 50-bedded ward has been developed. I joined this hospital around eight months back. We see around 350-400 deliveries every month and about 60-70 paediatric admissions at a time. There was always a space constraint. My team and I saw that there was an empty area and we decided to utilise it.”
The new children ward’s walls are adorned with beautiful paintings and Malayalam alphabets and numerals. Apart from colourful walls, this ward has facilities like that of television and playrooms to distract children from the serious atmosphere, characteristic of a hospital.
“We have a playroom where we have a number of toys, a cretch and even rocking chairs. Apart from this, the ward also has a four-bedded Isolation area, a seven-bedded Diarrehoal disease area.” The team of doctors, in fact, are the ones who contributed money from their own pockets and bought a television for this ward costing Rs 20,000. The total cost of the renovation came out to be Rs 6 lakh.
“Earlier children were scared and would always cry about going home. We just wanted their attention to be diverted. Now, these kids are a lot happier as they no longer feel that they are in the hospital being treated for something,” Dr Rajeevan said.
Interestingly, the district panchayat also showed great interest. In fact, Dr Rajeevan said that the president of the District Panchayat would visit the ward regularly while the revamp was going on.
Dr Satheesh, the pediatric consultant of the Children’s ward who is also the part of the core team said, “We have elaborate plans for the children’s ward. Right now the children’s ward doesn’t have an ICU. We plan on having an ICU as soon as possible.”
Primary Healthcare Centres to Family Healthcare Centres
The Kerala government has rolled out the Nava Kerala Mission. Under this mission, the state government has formulated affordable and comprehensive health care to people named under project Ardram.
Under Ardram, several Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC) are being transformed into Family Healthcare Centres (FHCs). In Kannur district alone, 11 PHCs have been converted to FHCs in the first phase. About 50 more PHCs have been selected in the second phase. In this phase, 16 have already been transformed, while the process for other 34 is still underway.
Dr E Mohanan, in charge of Ardram, nodal officer told The Logical Indian, “Through this transformation, there is a major infrastructural upgrade is undertaken. Each of these transformed HCs has three doctors, four staff nurses, two pharmacists and one lab technician. Our main aim is to give our patients a better experience. We have even added observation rooms where critical patients are treated.”
Kerala, and Kannur district, in particular, is showing the rest of the country way in terms of healthcare. The Logical Indian appreciates the concerned authorities for undertaking various initiatives.
