Kozhikode Feb 12 ( IANS) Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition (LoP) V.D. Satheesan, on Thursday, unveiled a comprehensive health sector reform blueprint prepared by a commission appointed by the United Democratic Front (UDF), declaring that “Health Kerala is on a ventilator” and promising structural overhaul if the Congress-led front returns to power.

Releasing the report of the Health Commission led by S.S. Lal, LoP Satheesan said it was the first time in Kerala’s history that a political front had tasked a panel of experts to conduct a systematic study of the state’s health challenges.

The report, he said, would serve as a “knowledge resource for future Kerala”.

Positioning Universal Health Coverage as the core objective, LoP Satheesan said the UDF’s approach would ensure that no citizen is denied treatment for want of money.

Diagnostic tests and medicines in government hospitals are a right, he asserted, promising to restore free services disrupted due to government arrears.

He alleged severe systemic stress in public hospitals, patients on floors, three to a bed in medical colleges, ICU and ventilator shortages and blamed poor planning and lack of staff despite new buildings constructed through Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board.

He criticised the failure to fully implement the Public Health Cadre, the limited rollout of e-health, and the underperformance of the Medisep insurance scheme for government employees and pensioners.

The UDF pledged 24-hour trauma care in secondary hospitals, integration of Health and Medical Education departments, stricter drug quality checks, repair of idle medical equipment through a dedicated agency, and expanded emergency ambulance coverage within four minutes across panchayats.

Citing Kerala’s high out-of-pocket expenditure estimated at 60 to 70 per cent, LoP Satheesan said it would be reduced to 35 per cent, drawing lessons from Tamil Nadu’s model.

He also proposed She Hospitals for women and children, tribal health clusters, coastal care units, strengthened mental health services, doorstep medicine delivery for the elderly and differently-abled persons, and targeted programmes for transgenders.

Warning that corporate acquisitions of private hospitals could sharply inflate treatment costs, LoP Satheesan promised higher budget allocations, a dedicated health fund and CSR-supported diagnostic labs.

Implementing the commission’s recommendations, the LoP said, would transform Kerala from a “ventilator-stage system” into a global health destination.

–IANS

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