Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Marks 75 Years of Service and Expansion

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala’s first medical college, the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College, has entered its 75th year as of November 27. Health Minister Veena George conveyed greetings to all staff and members of the institution on the anniversary.

Founded in 1951, the college has made significant contributions to Kerala’s healthcare system and its public health infrastructure. Over time, it has developed into one of India’s prominent centres for medical education and treatment. During this period, the emergency department of the college was upgraded to a Centre of Excellence. The SAT Hospital was also included among ten institutions in India recognised as Centres of Excellence for rare diseases. Both the medical college and the dental college were included in the national rankings.

The campus spans around 125 acres. In addition to serving patients from across Kerala, the medical college is also relied upon by neighbouring districts in Tamil Nadu. The hospital system handles nearly 8,000 outpatient visits daily, while more than 500 inpatients are newly admitted each day at both the Medical College Hospital and SAT. The college offers 250 MBBS seats and operates 24 specialty departments and 16 super-specialty departments. Research activities are also actively underway.

The institution includes several allied colleges and units: the Nursing College, Dental College, Pharmacy College, Priyadarshini Paramedical Institute, Child Development Centre, Regional Limb Fitting Centre, Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Pangappara Urban Health Unit, and Varkala Rural Health Unit. Notable institutions such as the Sree Chitra Institute, Achutha Menon Research Centre, and Regional Cancer Centre

are also located within the same campus.

Major development works have progressed in recent years. The second phase of the master plan, costing 717.29 crore, is currently underway. For the first time in Kerala, departments such as Critical Care, Genetics, Fetal Medicine, Pediatric Gastroenterology, Geriatrics, Interventional Radiology, and Rheumatology were established at the medical college.

The institution successfully carried out liver transplant surgeries and several rare cardiac procedures. The Stroke Centre and Interventional Neurology services were made operational. A LINAC machine, used for advanced radiation therapy for cancer, was installed for the first time at the hospital. A special block with 100 ICU beds was set up, and a SPECT scanner was installed at a cost of 7.3 crore.

At SAT Hospital, a modern pediatric cardiac surgery unit was launched under the pediatric cardiology department. Approval was granted for three PG seats in Emergency Medicine, and the course has begun. Two seats were approved for the DM programme in Pediatric Nephrology, and two seats were similarly approved for the DM programme in Pulmonary Medicine.

Several advanced clinical units were established for the first time, including the Interventional Pulmonology Unit, Interventional Radiology Unit, Burns ICU E-Bus system, Skill Lab, and Breast Milk Bank. The SMA Clinic began functioning, and surgery for scoliosis (spinal curvature correction) was launched. Through various public healthcare and welfare programmes, patients received free treatment worth around 125 crore rupees during the 2024–25 financial year.