Mananthavadi: With the launch of MBBS classes at the Wayanad Government Medical College Hospital here, Kerala has become the first state in the country to have government medical colleges in all its districts, Health, Women and Child Welfare Minister Veena George said on Saturday.

She was addressing the 'Pravesanolsavam' inaugration at the govt MCH. Ensuring opportunities for all medical aspirants to pursue MBBS within the state is a declared objective of the LDF government, she said. The minister added that Kerala also has government nursing colleges in every district.

Highlighting the progress made at the Wayanad Medical College, Veena George said the LDF government had already sanctioned 15 super-specialty posts at the hospital to help address the healthcare needs of the district.

As the land identified initially for the college is entangled in a legal dispute, the new campus will be developed on 28 acres of land at Ambukuthi near Mananthavadi, she said.

To commence the first-year MBBS classes, 115 teaching and 25 non-teaching posts have been created, she added. A multipurpose block costing ₹45 crore, funded by NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development), a cath lab with an outlay of ₹8.23 crore, and angioplasty facilities have already been launched at the hospital.

A mortuary complex costing ₹2.3 crore under the National Health Mission (NHM) is also in the pipeline. A skill lab has been established using ₹70 lakh from the CSR fund of HUDCO. A power laundry facility funded by MLA A. R. Kelu (₹18 lakh) and an oxygen generator plant supported by the NHM have also been completed. A standardised labour room and a paediatric ICU are now ready to serve patients.

District Collector DR Meghasree, Medical Education Director Dr KV Viswanathan, and Mananthavadi Municipal Chairperson CK Rathnavally were among those present.

Three Wayanad natives in first MBBS batch
Three Wayanad natives, including one from the Scheduled Tribe community, have been selected for the college’s first MBBS batch. They are Akhila Vinod of Mananthavadi, Nida Fathima of Sulthan Bathery, and Nanda Kishore of Meenangadi.

Of the 50 seats approved by the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the Kerala University of Health Sciences, 17 boys and 24 girls have so far taken admission. Seven seats fall under the all-India quota and 43 under the state quota. Classes commenced online on October 3.