The Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) has approved a trimmed package of around ₹66 crore for the reconstruction of General Hospital (GH).
The hospital authorities had forwarded a ₹73-crore proposal for the development of hospital infrastructure including the superspecialty block, Cancer Care Centre, high-tension lines, and various other modifications.
Hospital functionaries told The Hindu that a final approval from KIIFB was subject to the documentation to be submitted ahead of the implementation of the project. This includes the town planner’s approval as well as that of the Pollution Control Board for the sewage treatment plant. The documents are at various stages of processing and will be submitted to KIIFB soon. Plans are also afoot to commence the work at the earliest.
The installation of linear accelerator (Linac) is another project in progress at GH. The precision machine for radiation oncology is expected to go a long way in cancer care in the public sector.
The hospital, where more than 3,000 new cancer cases are reported every year, has been offering radiation treatment employing obsolete technology. The method has been phased out at most cancer treatment centres.
As the calibration of linac will take about two months, the hospital authorities believe if work goes on as planned, the machine could become operational in November.
