Former Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac, in a recent article on health cooperatives brought out by the Organic Kerala Charitable Trust, has praised the success of the Thrikkakara Municipal Cooperative Hospital.
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He says the hospital, established under the People’s Plan Campaign (launched in August 1996), was among the numerous successful projects in Kerala that revealed the immense potential for democratic decentralisation.
The cooperative hospital was established in 1999 and has developed into a health care hub that offers its services at affordable rates. With an average of 600 outpatient visits per day, the municipal cooperative institution is a sought after health care destination.
It is estimated that there are around 103 (as of 2019-20) health cooperatives in operation in the State and the Thrikkakara Municipal Cooperative Hospital has a prime place on the list.
M.P. Sukumaran Nair, president of the hospital, says if the cooperative hospital receives wider support, even from cash-rich cooperative banks, it can expand and introduce more facilities at affordable rates for the ordinary people in the face of rising cost of medical care.