The Thanjavur Medical College Hospital and the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital have received the nod from the Union Health Ministry for upgrade into speciality hospitals.
They are among the 39 medical colleges/hospitals that were to be taken up in the third phase of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).
The approval was received by the Directorate of Medical Education a fortnight ago.
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The Thanjavur Medical College Hospital, inaugurated in 1964 as a 500-bed institution, now has 16 specialities. The Thirunelveli Medical College, which will celebrate its golden jubilee next year, was launched in 1965.
The expansion of facilities would include increasing the bed strength and admitting more patients for specialist services for which patients now come here or go to Madurai. In the first phase, the medical college in Salem was upgraded at a cost of Rs.120 crore. In the second phase, the Government Rajaji Medical College Hospital (GRH) in Madurai was upgraded. Initially, it was proposed to develop the GRH into an All India Institute of Medical Sciences facility but the government was unable to provide the required land for expansion and a site around one km away from the main premises was chosen. This was not acceptable to the Union government as it stipulated that for an AIIMS, the government should be able to allot at least 150 to 200 acres, say sources aware of the development.