Pappinisseri: The Pappinisseri Community Health Centre, situated right beside the national highway, has a Citizen's Charter on display that proudly announces the availability of an inpatient (IP) clinic for admissions, alongside its outpatient (OP) services.

However, right beside this very board, wards lie perpetually shut. In fact, within the two-storey building, all five wards, comprising 56 beds, along with the labour room and the operation theatre, remain closed and non-functional.

Local residents are increasingly demanding that the Community Health Centre be upgraded to a 24-hour operational hospital. The number of patients seeking treatment here has seen a significant surge, with over 700 individuals visiting the OPD daily. This underscores the pressing need for the immediate implementation of the CHC's development plans.

Doctors' services are unavailable here from 6 PM onwards. Furthermore, the health centre remains completely shut from 2 PM on Sunday until 9 AM on Monday.

Given its location alongside a national highway, this health centre, which ought to be a critical point for emergency services, is instead in a deplorable state. The centre could easily operate 24 hours a day if doctors, nurses, and other personnel are appointed strictly according to the CHC's approved staff pattern. Compounding the issue, there are widespread complaints that patients seeking treatment often endure hours in queues, leading to exhaustion.

There is a strong demand for inpatient facilities at the hospital. However, complaints abound that hospital development remains confined to empty promises made by political leaders. Furthermore, crores of rupees in NABARD funds, specifically allocated for the hospital's development, have, to date, remained unutilized.

The Pappinisseri Mandalam Congress Committee had previously submitted a petition to Minister K Muraleedharan, urging the establishment of inpatient facilities and the appointment of more specialist doctors. A key demand outlined in the petition is that the hospital's development should enable it to provide immediate emergency treatment for accidents that occur on the national highway.