Princess Krishnajammanni Super-Speciality Hospital and Trauma Care Centre on KRS Road

Mysore/Mysuru: In a major boost for healthcare sector in Mysuru, two newly built and so far unused huge specialist hospitals will start functioning from tomorrow (Feb. 6). The hospitals are Princess Krishnajammanni Super-Speciality Hospital and Trauma Care Centre.

Though these new hospitals were built years ago, they were lying unused, depriving medical services to the people, especially the poor and economically backward residents in the region as the hospitals lacked doctors, nursing and other support staff as well as major equipment.

The Trauma Care Centre and the Princess Krishnajammanni Super-Speciality Hospital, all on the KRS Road on the premises of PKTB Sanatorium, have remained a non-starter — they were not being used for the purpose for which they were built. Both hospitals come under the administration of Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMC&RI).

Only the District Hospital on the same road has become fully functional now as this hospital was the dedicated hospital for COVID patients both in the killer first wave and second wave.

Multiple facilities

According to a press release from Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMC&RI), from Feb. 6, facilities like plastic surgery, orthopaedics, paediatric surgery, neurology, neuro-surgery, urology, nephrology, gastroenterology, medical oncology, surgical oncology and Out-Patient Departments will function at the Princess Krishnajammanni Super-Speciality Hospital.

The Trauma Care Centre will have an inpatient department comprising 130 beds and surgery departments. Facilities will be made available for lab investigation tests both for inpatients and outpatients at PKTB&CD Hospital, the press note added.

As of now, the hospitals will function from 9 am to 4 pm and the timings will be extended depending on the situation and need.

Elite Government hospital

The 250-bed Princess Krishnajammanni Super-Speciality Hospital is located behind the Trauma Centre and is dedicated to Princess Krishnajammanni of the erstwhile Mysore royal family. Built at an estimated cost of Rs. 134 crore, the Hospital joins the list of many elite Government hospitals in the city.

The Super-Speciality Hospital has an approximate built area of 2,20,676.84 sq.ft with each floor having over 40,000 sq. ft of space to accommodate the departments and other facilities.

The 135-bed Trauma Care Centre has been built at a cost of Rs. 30 crore to provide timely and emergency treatment. It was built across 80 acres of PKTB Sanatorium campus as the casualty wing at K.R.  Hospital was recording nearly 1,500 accident victims.

It was built to cater to the needs of road accident victims of Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar, Hassan and Kodagu and can handle 135 patients. It can add up to 200 more beds with an oxygen supply for future requirements as it has been designed to accommodate additional beds.

Though the facilities were inaugurated by political leaders, the hospitals remained unutilised and unavailable to the public. Earlier, the MMC&RI authorities had sought 850 posts, including doctors, nursing staff, Group D and C to the needs of the hospitals but successive State Governments chose to put the request in cold storage.

Use during 2020, 2021

However, in 2020 and 2021, the hospitals were temporarily used for treating COVID-19 patients. They came in very handy to combat the pandemic. But after the pandemic, the facilities were again unused after the COVID-19 cases came under control. In fact, in 2021, the Princess Krishnajammanni Super-Speciality Hospital ran on a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model during the peak of the COVID pandemic.

The patient load and pressure on K.R. Hospital, also attached to MMC&RI, would be eased once the Trauma Care Centre and the Super Speciality Hospitals become fully functional.

Phase-wise opening

Both the hospitals will be operational phase-wise. The project to renovate K.R. Hospital at a cost of Rs. 89 crore is beginning soon and we have to de-congest the Hospital. As such, we are diverting the crowd to these new hospitals. We have made all the necessary arrangements including ventilators at the new hospitals. Some more equipment is coming. Even the existing doctors and staff have been allocated. Also, tenders have been floated to appoint new technicians and paramedics.

—Dr. K.R. Dakshayini, Dean and Director, Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMC&RI)