Irikkur Taluk Hospital building in Kannur ready, but key facilities still missing

Irikkur: Even when the new building of the Irikkur Taluk Hospital in Kannur becomes operational, it is set to miss several crucial facilities expected of a taluk hospital. The structure, limited to a basement and ground floor, falls short of what was promised.

Built with an allocation of ₹11.30 crore from NABARD, the facility will house a casualty unit, specialty OP, pharmacy, plaster room, X-ray unit, dressing and injection room, reception counter, waiting lobby, staff nurse lounge, doctors’ lounge, medicine store and toilets. Construction is expected to be completed and inaugurated by December.

Currently, the existing hospital lacks even the basic infrastructure of a taluk hospital. During the foundation stone-laying in February 2024, the Health Minister had announced that the new building would bridge these gaps. She had also assured that the post of superintendent would be created, along with changes in the staff pattern, to ensure the hospital’s smooth functioning. However, since the new building too will lack taluk hospital-level facilities, those assurances may remain unfulfilled.

The Irikkur CHC was upgraded to a taluk hospital in September 2015, in the final months of the then UDF government. But in the nine years since, the Pinarayi government has taken little to no follow-up action to bring it up to standard.

During a visit one-and-a-half years ago, Health Minister Veena George told that the Finance Department had not been formally informed about the hospital’s elevation and that it still remained a CHC in treasury documents. She promised immediate correction, but nothing has changed to date. Even the hospital’s official seal continues to carry the CHC imprint.
Organisations and local groups have staged repeated protests against the government’s continued neglect of the hospital.