This Covid-19 hospital was set up by chance

This Covid-19 hospital was set up by chance

In The Second Report On Projects That Await New Chief Minister M K Stalin’s Attention, We Highlight A Hospital That’s Doing Well But Deserves More Care

RaguRaman@timesgroup.com

09.05.2021

The Omandurar multi super speciality hospital and medical college, which is playing a stellar role in the ongoing war on Covid, came into being as part of one-upmanship between J Jayalalithaa of the AIADMK and M Karunanidhi of the DMK. He built it as the new seat of government — a legislaturecum-secretariat complex. She turned it into a hospital.

Their disagreement on the issue started when Jayalalithaa wanted to build a new government headquarters overlooking the Bay of Bengal after razing Queen Mary’s College. The DMK opposed this and there was a public outcry. So she got the Anna University to hand over land at Kotturpuram for a new secretariat. When the DMK came to power in 2006, it returned the land.

Karunanidhi as chief minister built a new legislative assembly-cum-secretariat complex at the Omandurar government estate and moved the assembly there from Fort St George. When Jayalalithaa returned to power in 2011, she took the government back to Fort St George. She converted the new complex at Omandurar into the present super-speciality hospital and medical college.

Both the titans have since passed from the scene. Now M K Stalin has been elected chief minister and he has a 550-bed Covid hospital in the heart of the city that he can improve on. This is Stalin’s chance to chart his own path without being weighed down by old antagonisms.

According to DMK party sources, the state government has not made any decision to reconvert it as an assembly and secretariat complex. “There is absolutely no discussion about it at the moment,” a source said.

Medical experts and bureaucrats feel it is better not only to retain the hospital there, but also to expand it in view of the pandemic. Experts said the previous government spent more than ₹100 crore on converting the assembly complex into a super-speciality hospital. “Converting this again into a secretariat complex will result in huge loss to the public exchequer,” said Dr Edwin Joe, former director of medical education.

The Omandurar hospital has high-end equipment for cancer treatment. It is the only hospital in the state to have a nuclear medicine department.

“Though a majority of the beneficiaries have been poor, middle-class and upper middleclass also are frequenting to the hospital due to the new building and facilities available here,” Dr Joe said.

Dr G R Ravindranath, general secretary of Doctors Association for Social Equality, said the building was not originally meant for a hospital and medical college. “To prevent waste of public money, it should be allowed to function as a hospital,” he said.

On expanding the facilities, Indian Medical Association national president Dr J A Jayalal said, “The hospital can be expanded to have all superspecialities under one roof. They can also add infrastructure for pandemic-related research.”