The Hindu Business Line : Look beyond Chennai

Dr G. Bakthavathsalam, Chairman of KG Hospital, is sore that the government's priorities in the health services sector are misplaced. Stating the example of the dearth of nurses, and the great demand for them overseas, he says that with HIV/AIDS and other diseases going up in number, globally there is demand for five lakh nurses a year. Even in India, there is a great demand for nurses. "We have a wonderful opportunity of training Tamil girls and helping them get valuable foreign exchange. We are recognised by the National Board for training specialists and super specialists. Recently, we met the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and told her that we've been allotted only 50 nurses for training, whereas we have to the capability to train 200 nurses. She told the Health Secretary to enhance the number immediately. Over four months have passed, but nothing has happened." He feels this state of affairs is appalling in a country where "according to statistics, to create one job in the government sector you need Rs 4 lakh. I say you can't create jobs, so allow us to do it; I'm willing to create hundreds of nursing jobs a year without any extra cost to the government, so you should jump at it. When Hyundai Motor Corporation comes to Chennai, you're willing to give 800 acres of land and tax exemption for 10 years. But when I want to create 200 nursing jobs for our women every year, I don't get the `okay' from you."

His advice to the TN Government: "Learn to think beyond Chennai, where there is no water, the roads are crowded and the vehicles crawl. In Coimbatore, out of the four big private hospitals, only one is corporate and the other three are run by medical trusts. The great thing about Coimbatore people is philanthropy. They make money but they also spend it on building hospitals, educational institutions and temples."

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