Kozhikode: The health sector in the city is on a growth trajectory with half a dozen new hi-tech hospitals lining up resulting in enhanced competition, poaching of proven medical experts and induction of advanced technology in the sector.
MVR Cancer Centre, Star Care Health Hospital and Metromed International Cardiac Centre are some of them. The multi-specialty luxury hospital Mythri which is yet to be opened is the last in the line. The new wave has hit the two pioneers in the industry, Baby Memorial Hospital and MIMS Hospital. Most of these hospitals claim that they are ensuring the latest world class technology in treatment.
The opening of MVR saw the exit of Dr Narayanankutty Warrier, the eminent oncologist from MIMS. A selected group of experts also followed him. Former Managing Director of MIMS Dr Abdulla Cherayakkatt and another team also moved out to the Star Care Hospital recently.
Financial analysts say that it is time for celebration in the industry as there is a significant increase in salary from managerial experts to cleaning staff. Many of the known experts received an unbelievable increase in salary and packages.
Many doctors in the industry have already signed an agreement with the upcoming Mythri hospital project.
However, a section of medical experts see it as a symptom of an unhealthy health care system, saying most of them provide only tertiary health care to patients, but keep off from the primary health sector.
Noted physician Dr Meharoof Raj told DC that the trend had made the sector a mere industry like any other profit-oriented commercial sector with unhealthy competition. “Attending to a patient was earlier considered a noble service. But that image is changing”, he added. “Globalization also resulted in corporatization of health care leading to mushrooming of such institutions”, he added.
“What we need in fact is strengthening of primary health care starting from our Primary health Centres (PHC)”, said Dr VP Sasidharan, former principal of Medical College Hospital. “Rather than tertiary health care, preventive health care should be given more importance”, he added. “Now even for a minor fever, people rushed to such super specialty hospitals”, he added.
“We had enough number of star category hotels, modern bakeries and health clubs”, said emergency medicine expert Dr P.P. Venugopal. “And now we have sufficient number of star hospitals. It is a circle. First we eat all kinds of food. Then we try all kinds of exercises. At last we end up in some star hospitals”, he added.
