PALAKKAD: Following demand from tribespeople, the health department is seriously considering to make the Government Medical College in Palakkad under the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes department a referral centre for patients from Kottathara Tribal Specialty Hospital in Attappady.
Now, patients from Attappady are referred to EMS Cooperative Hospital at Perinthalmanna which was paid Rs.12.5 crore by the government for providing treatment to the tribespeople from Attapadi last year.
The Government Medical College in Palakkad will require no such funds as it is run by the SC and ST department. Once the medical college becomes fully functional it will also serve as a super specialty hospital. The distance to these two hospitals from Attappady is almost the same.
The tribespeople have also demanded to strengthen the 28 public health centres in Attapadi with more medical, paramedical and other staff and modern facilities. Rajendra Prasad, president of Thampu, an NGO working among tribespeople, said it is crucial to ramp up the locallevel public health centres for providing health facilities to the tribespeople, especially those in remote hamlets.
