Chromepet government hospital to get a facelift at Rs 125 crore

CHENNAI: The Chromepet government hospital is all set to be upgraded into a district hospital soon. The funds have been allocated, and the work is expected to begin shortly.

The State government has allocated Rs 125 crore for the works, which would begin shortly.

Official sources said that the number of beds would be increased to 500, and a separate wing for outpatients would be constructed. It’d also have a separate block for orthopaedics so that people would not need to visit Chennai GH.

Currently, the mortuary is very small and can store only 10 bodies at a time, which would be upgraded to store 50 bodies.

The Chromepet GH was inaugurated in 1974 and is the only GH in the south suburbs of Chennai. It caters to residents from around 30 km radius and records footfall of about 1,500 patients every day. Around 300 child births are recorded each month.

Activists have welcomed the move for an upgraded GH, especially considering that it’d be useful for residents in Pallavaram, Tambaram, Selaiyur, Sembakkam, Perungalathur, Chromepet, Alandur and Sriperumbudur taluk.

Dinesh, from Tambaram, said, “If the Chromepet GH is upgraded soon, I can take my mom there instead of going to the Chennai GH. Hope that soon the work would get started, as it’d make life easier for my mom and me as well.”

An official source from the Chromepet GH said that planning has already begun. “We’re planning to construct five floors. The construction work is expected to start in January 2023,” he added. “During construction, the hospital would continue to function in the same place.”

When the government announced Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram as separate districts, the Chromepet GH came under the Chengalpattu district administration. Since then, people and activists requested the government to declare Chrompet GH as a district hospital, which happened in 2021.