The State Government has taken over the administration of the Koosamma Shambhu Shetty Memorial Haji Abdullah Mother and Child Hospital in Udupi.
In an order passed recently, the Government said that it will take care of maintenance of this new hospital constructed under public-private partnership. It will also bear all other responsibilities related to this new mother and child hospital.
The Government said that it will bear the cost of running the hospital which has been put at ₹9.83 crore per annum. It includes ₹7 crore for annual maintenance and ₹2.83 crore that goes towards human resources and other expenses, the order stated.
The Government has also withdrawn the order that granted 30-year lease to BRS Health Research Institute Private Limited, Bengaluru, to run the hospital.
It was in October 2016 that the Government asked BRS Health Institute to construct a 200-bed Mother and Child Hospital, 400-bed Centre of Excellence Hospital and also a building for all medical services on 3.88 acres land belonging to the Health and Family Welfare Department. The Institute was granted 30 years lease to run the hospital.
The foundation stone for the new hospital was laid on October 30, 2016 and the new mother and child hospital began operations on January 18, 2018. Within a few weeks of operations, problems began with employees going on a strike due to non-payment of wages. The staff members carried out the strike for a few days in August 2021. They stopped all other work, except for emergency services, in February 2021. Some doctors and nurses stuck work in June 2021 demanding payment of three months pending salary.
It was on June 9, 2021 that the Institute wrote to the State Government stating that it was not in a position to run the hospital.
Udupi MLA K. Raghupathi Bhat then urged the State Government to take over the hospital. While laying the foundation stone for the 250-bed district hospital in August 2021 in Udupi, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that an order for taking over the Mother and Child Hospital will be passed.
The State Government notified taking over the Mother and Child Hospital on April 13, 2022.
