Kerala Rules Out In-Patient Units at Small Health Centres Due to Staff and Cost Shortfalls

Health Minister K. Muraleedharan told the Assembly that setting up in-patient wards in government health units below the taluk level is not possible due to policy limits. This kind of expansion needs heavy spending on doctors, nurses, and support staff, along with basic building work that smaller clinics cannot easily support.

Pozhiyoor Exception

N. Sakthan raised the issue through a calling attention motion, asking the government to bring back in-patient services at family health centres in Pozhiyoor and Chenkal. He noted these services were stopped by the previous LDF government and also asked for faster development work at the Neyyattinkara General Hospital. Mr. Muraleedharan explained that Pozhiyoor and Chenkal are primary health centres turned into family health centres, designed only to give basic care and manage public health work. Even with this policy, the Minister stated that the state will look at bringing back in-patient care at the Pozhiyoor family health centre as a special case because it is located in a coastal area.

Context

Taluk-level hospitals in government health systems sit above primary and family health centres, acting as larger regional hubs with more beds and staff. Smaller local clinics mainly focus on out-patient care, preventive medicine, and basic treatments before referring serious cases to bigger hospitals.