Stepping over steel rods and bags of cement, I picked my way through to the hospital administration entrance. A mere 15 km north of Trivandrum, Kazhakottam Rural Health Training Centre is already kitted out with 100 beds.
The latest building project will double that. The medical director explained how this burgeoning hospital serves a mixed community of local middle class workers as well as many nearby coastal fishing villages. The designation ‘rural health training centre’ hardly seems appropriate now with such a large facility planned. Such is the growth of population and economy in India that the local health systems can barely keep up. With the support of the Diocese of South Kerala and substantial bank loans, the expansion at Kazhakottam will relieve some of this pressure. It seems the demand for these high quality yet affordable health services will continue apace.
Bishop Gladstone and his medical director, Dr. Bennet Abraham, are boldly constructing a diocesan health system that is fit for purpose in 21st Century India. Kazhakottam is one of 3 existing mission hospitals in the diocese that have benefitted from extensive investment. In just 20 years, the small 6 bed clinic in a tumble-down colonial building in Karakonam has been transformed into a 550 bed teaching hospital, the Dr. Somervell Memorial C.S.I. Medical College and Hospital (SMCSI). From its opening, the college swiftly gained a top regional reputation, yet it serves some of the poorest communities in Kerala State. SMCSI also works extensively in North West Tamil Nadhu, particularly amongst those fishing villages that were decimated by the tsunami in 2004. Its targeted approach to providing high quality low cost health services makes it the medical facility of choice for most people in the district.”