District Hospital fails to address critical cases in Kodagu, despite crores of investment

New Indian Express

18-05-2025

MADIKERI: The health sector in Kodagu, especially the District Hospital in Madikeri, witnessed a makeover during the COVID-19 period. Further, the hospital has been sanctioned Rs 178.1 crore in recent years for the completion of a new, well-equipped hospital building.
However, hundreds of patients continue to be referred to hospitals in cities outside Kodagu as the District Hospital faces an acute staff shortage, with over 150 posts lying vacant.
Mithya (name changed) recently reported to the District Hospital after her husband developed symptoms of a pancreatic infection. He was shifted to the ICU and treated for two days.
However, as the infection worsened and no specialist doctors were available at the hospital, the patient was referred to a better facility in Mysuru. The family ended up spending over Rs 1 lakh for treatment at a private hospital outside the district.
Despite the completion of the new hospital building that boasts improved facilities, the District Hospital is still functioning from the old building, which lacks even a lift. Hundreds of patients from within the district and neighbouring areas, including Periyapatna, seek treatment here.
While the hospital manages minor ailments, complex health cases are routinely referred to private or other government hospitals outside Kodagu. Despite the government investing crores in improving the facility, decent treatment for the poor remains a distant dream.
'A senior doctor visits the patients once during the morning hour. Post that, it is the students of the medical college who follow up on the patients. When my husband was admitted at the District Hospital, the junior trainee doctors were unable to explain to us what the exact problem was,' said Mithya.
When The New Indian Express contacted the management regarding the hospital's failure to handle not-so-complicated cases, Dr Lokesh, the Dean of the Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences (KoIMS), stated, 'If a patient requires surgical and medical treatment, they are being referred to other hospitals as our hospital does not have super specialists. There are many challenges in appointing specialists and due to the absence of a gastroenterologist and nephrologist, severe pancreas cases are being referred to other hospitals.' He further added that there are no experts available to treat critical patients.
Patients, meanwhile, are left questioning whether the District Hospital exists only to treat minor ailments such as the common cold, as hundreds of cases are regularly referred to other hospitals despite the crores invested.
Vacancies at the hospital
While the District Hospital requires 43 Senior Resident (SR) doctors, only three are working, leaving 40 posts vacant. Similarly, of the 47 required Junior Resident (JR) doctors, only three are on duty, leaving 44 positions unfilled. Among the 36 other doctor posts, only 17 are filled.
The hospital currently has 151 vacant posts, including those of the Director, Chief Administrative Officer, and District Surgeon.