The only cure for hospitals on deathbed

text of the letter sent to Times of India:

I refer to your Times City report of March 11th, about 'hospitals on deathbed'. Similar reports have appeared in your paper as well as the others, on a regular basis, from times immemorial. The only difference you notice now is the glass and steel facade (in Bowring hospital), provided at a cost (to the public) of close to Rs 10 crores, a good portion of which would have gone into various new pockets, apart from the old ones which have been collecting their portions from the everyday operations as well for ages. Without this new facade, these buildings atleast had their heritage value. Now, even that is lost.

There is no redemption for these institutions as long as their management remains with the government, and the loot in various forms will only continue to grow in the years to come. The only way out is for their operations to be made over totally to any of the many reputed institutions existing in the field, like St John's, St Martha's, St Philomena's, Chinmaya Mission, Mata Amrutanandamayi trust, etc, etc, possibly monitored by a Healthcare services and Education Regulatory Authority, set up replacing the state Health Ministry.