"People speak about 'Kerala Model' but shameful that Taluk HQ Hospital has no maternity ward:" Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court on Thursday pulled up the State government for the wanting health infrastructure in a hospital despite the State's highly touted "Kerala model" [TM Azad v State of Kerala & Ors.]..Justice N Nagaresh chided the State and pointed out that for all its claims of the soundness of the Kerala model, a hospital, that too of a Taluk headquarters, seemed to have no operational maternity ward."This is taluk headquarters hospital. It is shameful to say there is no maternity ward. We keep saying Kerala model, Kerala model, but for what," the judge remarked orally..The Kerala model refers to the policy decisions made by the State of Kerala which is supposed to be characterised by strong social indicators when compared to the rest of the country such as high literacy and life expectancy rates, highly improved access to healthcare and low infant mortality and birth rates.The term grew in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic, at first used as praise for the way the Kerala government under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former Health Minister KK Shailaja handled the first waves of the pandemic by testing widely and keeping mortality rates low.However, it is now more commonly used by social media users to deride the State apparatus for its seeming inability to keep the Test Positivity Rate low after the second wave of COVID even when the rest of the country seemed to be recovering. .The observation of the Court came on a petition moved through advocate R Rajasekharan Pillai seeking directions to the relevant State authorities to commence the maternity ward in the Taluk Headquarter Hospital Peerumedu with an operation theatre providing all facilities and instruments.The Court noted that despite its previous directions, issued on December 14, 2021, to the government to submit a status report on operationalising a maternity ward in the hospital, the same had not been done.It, therefore, urged the Government Pleader to furnish the report expeditiously. .[Read previous Interim Order]