PKTB campus to house another major healthcare facility

In another major addition to the list of public healthcare institutions on the KRS Road here, the Mysuru branch of Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, an autonomous institution of the Government of Karnataka, has been proposed on a 7-acre plot in PKTB campus and the State Cabinet has approved a sum of ₹50 crore towards setting up of the healthcare facility for the benefit of people in the region.

In total, eight major hospitals are located on a stretch of KRS Road. The setting up of many public healthcare institutions on this particular stretch of the busy road has made the surrounding a potential hub for major healthcare services.

While some hospitals have become functional, a few are yet to become operational though the hospital buildings were ready many years ago. The facilities required doctors, key staff and equipment for becoming operational.

Eight major hospitals are situated on the stretch between Vontikoppal Temple junction and Outer Ring Road (ORR) junction on KRS Road in a distance of less than five km. They include the 350-bed Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, the 100-bed renovated ESI Hospital, the Government Nature Cure and Yoga Medical College, the Epidemic Diseases (ED) Hospital and the PKTB Sanatorium (both are old institutions), the 100-bed Trauma Care Centre, the 300-bed District Hospital and the 250-bed Super Speciality Hospital. The last three facilities played a key role in handling the pandemic as they were temporarily converted into Covid-19 hospitals.

The fully-equipped Jayadeva institute has been a boon for patients of not just Mysuru but neighboring districts. The facilities like Sri Jayadeva Institute, which provides advanced cardiac care, have the potential to make the area a “medical tourism hub”, feel doctors here.

The PKTB Sanatorium has plenty of land under the control of the Medical Education Department and therefore major healthcare projects are planned on the premises since land is not available within the city limits. The campus can accommodate many new healthcare projects.

Healthcare services for factory workers and others have improved because of the renovated 100-bed Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Hospital. The modernised ESI Hospital provides in-patient and outpatient treatment facilities in many specialities. Insured persons hailing from six districts — Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar, Hassan, Kodagu, and Chikkamagaluru — are using the services. ESI Hospital is close to the Metagalli and Hebbal industrial areas where many factories and industrial units are located.

The new facilities can ease pressure on the K.R. Hospital if they become functional. On an average, over 2,000 people use outpatient care at K.R. Hospital daily. Patients from neighbouring districts also come over, increasing the load on the existing infrastructure. Both hospitals are under pressure with rising patient load whereas the infrastructure remains undersized to meet the demand.

The city’s new public healthcare institutions – trauma care centre and super speciality hospital – remain unavailable for patients for want of doctors since their inception many years ago.

Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education K. Sudhakar, who was in Mysuru recently, has promised to operationalise the two facilities by the year-end. The Hindu