Thandikudi (Kodaikanal Hills) : A Right to Information (RTI) query has revealed a shocking state of healthcare at Thandikudi Government Hospital (GH), where only one childbirth has occurred in the past two years due to an acute shortage of doctors, staff, and functioning facilities.
Located in the tribal-dominated hill region, Thandikudi GH is one of the three government hospitals catering to residents from villages such as Mangalamkombu, Malaiyakadu, Kottakombu, and Kadukuthadi Pudur. Despite having a 20-bed capacity and witnessing outpatient footfalls of 65,679 in 2023 and 75,780 in 2024, the hospital has failed to offer consistent inpatient care.
According to health activist A. Veronica Mary, who filed the RTI, the hospital operates with only one doctor against a sanctioned strength of three. Out of 18 sanctioned posts, only 11 paramedical staff positions are filled. The remaining seven—including two doctor posts—remain vacant.
“There’s no radiologist to operate the ultrasound machine installed for prenatal checks, and due to this, even routine pregnancy scans are referred to other hospitals,” said Mary. The hospital’s ultrasound machine—transferred from another facility—recently broke down and remains non-functional, officials confirmed.
The geographical isolation of the hospital adds to the woes. People from surrounding tribal hamlets have to travel 25-30 km to reach either Pannaikadu or Kodaikanal GH for serious health issues, deliveries, or accidents. The only transportation option for them is the state-run bus service.
Due to this, many tribal women reportedly choose home births, assisted by village elders, as they are unaware of the procedures for pre-admission in hospitals or find the travel daunting during labour.
Though no major mishaps have been reported so far, Mary questions the very purpose of the hospital, saying, “If the hospital cannot serve the core medical needs of the community, including deliveries, what is it existing for?”
A district health official, responding to the situation, admitted that the ultrasound machine is out of order and that posting doctors to remote areas remains a challenge. “Though appointments have been sanctioned, most doctors are reluctant to serve in such remote postings,” the official said.
