I had written about the Government Corona Hospital (GCH) at the King Institute, Guindy offering high-quality treatment, referring to my own experience (IE, Sept 2020). A hospital for senior citizens was quickly converted for corona care in July 2020. GCH has recorded major expansion in quick time thanks to the reputation it gained under a team of dedicated corona warriors led by Dr K Narayanasamy. The number of beds was quickly increased to 500. At an adjacent facility, another 200 beds have been created to tackle the sudden surge in admissions due to the second wave. Yet another 100 beds have been added at the government peripheral hospital, KK Nagar.
The new Health Minister, Ma Subramanian, is a resident of the Industrial Estate Labour Colony nearby. The former mayor of Chennai metro has sprung into action on day one of assuming charge. He has been making frequent visits to GCH assisted by the dynamic head of the health department, J Radhakrishnan, and has been providing funds to expand oxygen and ICU facilities to an increasing number of beds.
Chennai metro has improved its strong public health infrastructure in a quick time. The Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital, the Stanley Medical College and Hospital, the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital, the Omandurar Multi Speciality Hospital and dozens of health centres, both existing PHCs and makeshift corona care centres, have been effectively treating corona patients in thousands.
The King Institute complex is more than 100 years old and has a reputation for its solid work in the development of vaccines. It is endowed with large space with lush greenery. Guindy is also well-connected with the metro and suburban rail systems right on the national highway and is a strong road transport hub. Thus it has credentials for setting up another super speciality hospital with an attached medical college to serve citizens of south Chennai. Guindy is already a reputed centre for higher education and research with its Anna University, IIT-Madras, Tamil Nadu MGR Medical University, CSIR-CLRI campus…
