COIMBATORE: Additional secretary to the department of health and family welfare, S Nagarajan, on Saturday visited the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) campus to inspect the spot where the new modular operation theatre funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is to come up. Later, speaking to reporters, he said, the vacant posts of doctors and nurses in state government hospitals will soon be filled.

The modular operation theatre would be constructed at a cost of Rs 98 crore and it would be equipped with hi-tech equipment at a cost of Rs 189 crore. The auditorium on the CMCH campus would be demolished to construct a six-floor operation theatre building. The auditorium would be housed on the sixth floor of the new building. Nagarajan also inspected the blood bank, maternity ward, ophthalmology ward and the cancer centre among other wards at CMCH.

Later, speaking to reporters, Nagarajan said the work to construct the new operation theatre would begin in March 2020 and it would be completed by 2024. He added that 1,884 doctors have been recruited through the medical recruitment board and they would soon be given appointment orders and be posted in government hospitals. He said 500 MBBS graduates were currently practising as house surgeons in state medical colleges and they would also be recruited after their course is completed. “We would also soon fill the 2,345 posts of nurses which are vacant in government hospitals,” Nagarajan said.