Vellore’s Pentland set to regain dist HQ hospital status

The Government Pentland hospital was the original district headquarters hospital till the Vellore Government Medical College Hospital was started at Adukamparai at the outskirts of the town on the Tiruvannamalai road in 2005.

The Pentland Hospital was named after the then governor of Madras, who inaugurated the hospital in 1915 after its upgradation from a clinic in 1882.

The Pentland Hospital later downgraded to a Taluk hospital while the Walajapet Government Hospital was made HQ hospital for the erstwhile Vellore district.

According to top medical officials, proposals have been forwarded to the government to make the Pentland Hospital the district HQ hospital once again.

“Though we are yet to receive any information from the government, we are hopeful that our request will be granted and hence are functioning as if Pentland was already a HQ hospital,” officials seeking anonymity said.

Also, proposals have been forwarded to start speciality departments in the hospital. If both the proposals are approved, the population of the Vellore district will be saturated with medical facilities as in addition to the famed CMC hospital, the town will also boast of a HQ and Medical College Hospital.

in addition to another 500-bed private hospital under construction on the banks of the Palar river near the new bus stand.

Asked about the HQ hospitals for the newly-set Ranipet and Tirupattur districts, the officials revealed that the Walajapet Government Hospital would be the HQ hospital for Ranipet district while the Tirupattur hospital would be upgraded to this status with the addition nearly 110 beds in two blocks making it a 350-bed hospital.

Medical officials added that various development schemes worth Rs 38 crore were either completed or is underway at Ambur, Vaniyambadi, Gudiyattam, Pernambut government hospitals.

These includes provision of additional OP block and CIMONE (Comprehensive Integrated Maternal Obstetrics and Neonatal Emergency) blocks at Rs 4 crore each for the Ambur and Vaniyambadi hospitals and ICU and OP blocks costing Rs 8 crore for the Gudiyattam hospital and similar facilities for the Pernambut government hospital at an estimated Rs 14 crores, officials added.