1 week Ago By Express News Service
KOLLAM : Despite the promise of the state government to improve the health sector, the reality paints a different picture. The C Keshavan Memorial Family Health Centre (FHC) in Mayyanad village has been neglected for years at a stretch, with no action taken despite repeated appeals from the public and local representatives seeking urgent intervention. The hospital building, constructed in 1952, is showing severe signs of deterioration.
The roof has collapsed in parts, and cracks have appeared on the walls. Despite these conditions, essential services such as the nursing station, observation rooms, and outpatient departments (OPDs) continue to operate in the building. A three-storey building constructed in 1984 is in an equally shabby state.
According to sources at the hospital, pieces of concrete from the walls and the roof frequently come off, posing a safety hazard. The lab, along with the male and female wards, continue to function in this unsafe environment. “It’s common for chunks of concrete to fall from the roof.
We are constantly worried about injuries. Patients, doctors, and nurses work in fear. Neither the local body nor the government has allocated significant funds for the hospital’s development in recent years.
The little maintenance that occurs is done using minimal funds available from time to time,” a source said. The hospital serves about 500 patients daily. However, in 2023, it was downgraded from a community health centre to an FHC, which sparked criticism from the UDF camp.
It accused the ruling LDF of undermining public hospitals..
