Health Minister Veena George and Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas will inaugurate new projects at the Government Medical College Hospital in Kozhikode on Monday.
Thottathil Raveendran, MLA, told reporters here on Saturday that Ms. George would unveil the bust of A.R. Menon, the first Health Minister of the State, and open the renovated orthopaedics department of the medical college while Mr. Riyas would launch the skywalk that connects three major blocks of the medical college complex.
The skywalk, built at a cost of ₹2.25 crore, connects the Medical College Hospital with the super-specialty block and the PMSSY casualty block. At present, patients are shifted from one building to the other in ambulances or on stretchers by crossing the road, causing discomfort to patients and bystanders. With the skywalk, patients can be shifted from one building to the other in battery-operated cars. Shifting them on stretchers is also easier on the skywalk as there is no need to cross the road.
It was T.P. Ramakrishnan, MLA, who took the initiative to build the skywalk. The structure is 172 metres long and 13 feet wide. Two battery cars can travel in both directions at the same time. Its construction cost has been borne by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and the alumni association of the medical college while the civil engineering department of the National Institute of Technology oversaw the project as a social outreach activity.
The bust of Dr. Menon, made in bronze, was set up at a cost of ₹5 lakh under the aegis of the alumni association, the parent-teacher association, the hospital development committee and campus beautification committee. The orthopaedics department was renovated under the Aardram project of the State government at a cost of ₹43.45 lakh.
Medical College Hospital Superintendent M.P. Sreejayan was present at the press meet.
