EPS flays DMK regime for building multi-storeyed hospitals sans staff

CHENNAI: Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami on Tuesday criticised the DMK government for assuming that constructing multi-storeyed hospitals equates to development, while failing to appoint sufficient numbers of doctors or establish adequate facilities, instead planning to divert doctors and nurses from the already understaffed government medical college and hospitals.

Chief Minister MK Stalin is set to inaugurate the seven-storeyed multi-speciality hospital on the premises of the 125-year-old Government Pentland Hospital in Vellore on Wednesday, yet the government has neither appointed doctors nor support staff to meet the public's healthcare needs, Palaniswami said in a statement.

Informed revealed that the Chief Minister is likely to inaugurate only the maternity and child care unit on Wednesday.

To run the unit, the authorities have issued direction to divert existing staff from the Government Vellore Medical College and Hospital’s maternity wing, which presently operates with just 8 assistant professors against a sanctioned strength of 31, he said and flagged that it would undermine the welfare of the public seeking medical care in severely unstaffed facilities.

A similar situation exists in Salem district, where eight doctors have been diverted to Ammapettai Government Hospital from the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College Hospital in the past 18 months, he said, added that it is the pattern in the present government’s approach to manage the public health sector, which threatens both the system and the welfare of the people.

This is why the state’s health sector has deteriorated, though Health Minister M Subramanian is expected to make every effort to cover up the issue by belting out numbers, Palaniswami added, expressing confidence that the people of Tamil Nadu will usher in a regime change in the 2026 Assembly elections.