The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) has urged the State government to upgrade the Government Erode Medical College and Hospital (GEMCH) in Perundurai into a multi super speciality hospital to enhance healthcare facilities in the region.
A memorandum in this regard was prepared by AITUC’s Erode district president S. Chinnasamy and was recommended and submitted by Tiruppur MP and AITUC All India vice-president K. Subbarayan to Health Minister Ma. Subramanian during his visit to the hospital on Friday.
According to the memorandum, the Ramalingam Tuberculosis Sanatorium (RTS), located in Sanitorium, Perundurai, was established in 1939. In 1992, it was converted into a medical college and hospital under the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (IRT–PMCH). Later, in 2018, it was taken over by the Government of Tamil Nadu, and since 2020, it has been functioning as the GEMCH.
Currently, the hospital lacks facilities for treatment of various ailments, including cardiology, nephrology, neurology, oncology, and plastic surgery. As a result, patients are compelled to travel nearly 80 km to Coimbatore or Salem for treatment, causing severe hardship. Therefore, the memorandum strongly urged the government to upgrade the hospital into a full-fledged multi super speciality facility with comprehensive infrastructure. With the long-standing demand for an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the region still unmet, the upgrade was described as all the more critical.
The memorandum also called for upgrading the Government Hospital in Perundurai town to at least a 60-bed facility. Additionally, it sought the elevation of the upgraded Government Primary Health Centres in Chennimalai and Thingalur into full-fledged government hospitals. It also requested the establishment of new Government Primary Health Centres in Pandiyampalayam and Ingur villages.
Published – June 07, 2025 05:52 pm IST