Hollow promises of super-speciality hospitals

 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s  announcement in Belagavi—that his government will establish a super-speciality hospital and a government medical college in every district—is nothing short of a political gimmick. At a time when even the most basic healthcare facilities in Karnataka remain crippled, such grand promises only mock the dire reality faced by patients and doctors alike.

A glance at the ground situation is enough to reveal how hollow this claim is. Government hospitals in towns and villages are in shambles. Hundreds of posts of doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff remain vacant. Medicines are either unavailable or in abysmally short supply. In several districts, government employees—including medical staff—have not been paid their salaries for months. If this is the state of existing infrastructure, how can one expect the government to mobilize thousands of crores of rupees required to build, equip, and sustain thirty super-speciality hospitals?

Setting up such hospitals is not merely about constructing buildings. It requires specialized doctors, state-of-the-art equipment, continuous medical supplies, and competitive salaries to retain staff. Even private corporate hospitals find it challenging to maintain such institutions without massive financial backing. For a state government that struggles to keep its primary health centres alive, this promise is beyond unrealistic—it is deliberately misleading.

The more immediate responsibility of the government lies in strengthening existing healthcare facilities. Every primary health centre must have adequate doctors, nurses, and medicines. District hospitals must be upgraded with basic diagnostic and emergency care facilities. Ambulance services, rural outreach, and preventive healthcare should take precedence over unrealistic mega-projects. Without these, even if super-speciality hospitals are announced, they will remain concrete shells with no real medical value.

In the two years remaining of this government’s term, it is virtually impossible to execute such a massive project. The Chief Minister surely knows this. Yet, such announcements are made to grab headlines, create illusions of progress, and reap political mileage. This is a dangerous betrayal of public trust. Citizens deserve honesty and accountability from their rulers, not empty slogans.

Healthcare is not a luxury; it is a basic right. The government’s credibility lies in ensuring that every citizen, from a remote village to a bustling city, has access to affordable and reliable medical care. Promises of super-speciality hospitals may sound impressive on a stage, but when weighed against reality, they are exposed as nothing more than cruel jokes on the suffering public.