The Government’s Taluk General Hospital in Bantwal is one of the three government hospitals where private medical colleges offer healthcare services in collaboration with the Health and Family Welfare Department in Dakshina Kannada district.
| Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Reiterating that the government’s collaboration with private medical colleges to provide services at government health care centres is aimed at offering quality healthcare to the needy, the Health and Family Welfare Department said here on Tuesday that the patient footfall in government hospitals has increased after the pact with private hospitals.Giving the example of the Community Health Centre at Ullal, Dakshina Kannada District Health Officer (DHO) H.R. Thimmaiah said in a statement that an average of 46 patients visited the hospital daily before the tie-up with a private hospital.After the private hospital began offering services, including those of specialists, scanning, and laboratory tests, an average of 400 patients per day are making use of the facility.Similarly, in the case of the District Government Wenlock Hospital and Lady Goschen Hospital in Mangaluru, which cater to patients from about 15 neighbouring districts, including parts of Kerala, services are being offered in collaboration with Kasturba Medical College, Mangaluru.When services offered in these two hospitals are compared with any other district hospital in the State, they provide high-quality, super-speciality level services via skilled specialists and other paramedical staff, which are being provided at no cost to the public. The Cath Lab service that started about six months ago has benefitted over 1,000 BPL card beneficiaries so far, the DHO said.Strengthening healthcareIn the backdrop of continued criticism by some organisations about the collaboration, the DHO made it clear that the arrangement is to strengthen the healthcare system at the grassroots level and provide specialist services in rural areas. For this, the government has approved collaboration with private hospitals at Belthangady Taluk Hospital, Bantwal Taluk Hospital, Moodbidri and Vittal Community Health Centres.Under this initiative, private medical colleges will provide the services of skilled specialists, paramedical staff, additional medical staff and state-of-the-art medical equipment that is required by government hospitals.This will directly benefit the common man, who will get treatment from specialist doctors and access to advanced diagnostic facilities free of cost, at the local level.The ownership of the health centre remains with the department, while the private institutions will only provide medical services free of cost. Published - July 07, 2026 09:24 pm IST
