Mavelikara MP Kodikunnil Suresh has criticised the Union government for what he described as its continued neglect in approving an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for Kerala, despite the state’s urgent need for advanced tertiary healthcare facilities.
In a statement issued on August 10, Suresh said he had raised the matter in the Lok Sabha on August 8, seeking details on the steps taken to establish an AIIMS in Kerala, the sites proposed by the state, and any feasibility studies conducted for central or southern Kerala.
Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav informed the House that Kerala had proposed four locations – Kinaloor in Kozhikode, Kattakada in Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, and Ernakulam but none had been approved under the current phase of the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY).
Suresh acknowledged that the Centre had sanctioned super-speciality blocks at Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Alappuzha MCH, Kozhikode MCH, and Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, but said these were no substitute for a full-fledged AIIMS.
“It is deeply disappointing that Kerala, with its exceptional health indicators, dense population, and strategic importance, remains one of the few states without an AIIMS,” Suresh said, urging the Centre to include Kerala in the next phase of AIIMS expansion. He stressed that such an institute would reduce patient migration, ease pressure on existing hospitals, and boost medical research within the state.
