Government pushes to operationalise capital’s second medical college

The State government is moving quickly to complete the necessary formalities to operationalise the first batch of 100 MBBS admissions at the second government medical college in the capital, recently re-named K. Karunakaran Memorial Medical College, in the current academic year itself.

The proposal to establish a second medical college in Thiruvananthapuram with an intake of 100 MBBS seats, by integrating the General Hospital and the Women and Children hospital at Thycaud had been taken up during the last UDF Government, when Oommen Chandy was the Chief Minister.

Despite objections from various quarters, including government doctors in health services about “handing over” the institution to the Medical Education department, the government went ahead with the project. It constructed a dedicated building on the General Hospital campus and created more than 100 posts. Although the UDF government formally inaugurated the Indira Gandhi Medical College in February 2016, the LDF government that assumed office later shelved the project.

The multi-storeyed building that had been constructed on the GH campus had remained idle for a long time before it was recently used as the Apex Trauma Training Centre

A dream project

The proposal for the second medical college in the capital was revived in the State Budget 2026-27. While this has opened up a larger debate on whether Kerala needs more medical colleges, when even the existing ones are struggling with various issues including infrastructure deficiencies and acute staff shortage, Health Minister, K. Muraleedharan, maintained that opening medical colleges in every district was the UDF’s policy and that the second medical college in the capital was a dream project that the government would not give up.

The government order re-naming the institution as K. Karunakaran Memorial Medical College, in honour of the four-time Chief Minister of Kerala and Mr. Muraleedharan’s father, was issued recently, prior to the government moving to submit the Essentiality Certificate and Certificate of Undertaking to the National Medical Commission

The government argues that the second medical college would ease the burden on Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College, which is overwhelmed by the sheer number of patients, with no more room for development.

Futile exercise

However, public health experts as well as the medical fraternity have pointed out that adding more MBBS seats without long-term planning might prove to be a futile exercise, for Kerala already has one of the highest doctor-population ratios. Also, they point out that the existing gaps in the State’s health sector workforce pertains largely to the shortage of super speciality faculty -- anaesthesiology, trauma care, psychiatry etc.

Rather than expanding the pool of undergraduates, focus should be on creating more facilities for super speciality training in medicine, they point out.

However, the State government has now sought the Centre’s support in expediting the project and has also appealed that the ₹150 crore Central assistance for new medical colleges be allowed for this project. Union Health Minister, J.P. Nadda is said to have given his assurance that Kerala’s request would be considered.