The common people of Kerala get the best treatment at a minimal cost from the medical college hospitals. The most important of them is the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital. Although it has been a referral hospital for years, that current position is no longer the case. Patients are being referred to the medical college from primary centres and taluk hospitals in excess. This has become tantamount to disrupting and sabotaging the functioning of the medical college hospitals. Even the patients who need proper care are being neglected due to the large number of patients in the medical college.

No one can be provided with quality treatment if the medical team does not spend at least five minutes with a patient to find out the details of the disease and prescribe treatment. If the number of patients to be seen by the duty doctor increases exponentially, they will have to do marathon rounds. This problem cannot be solved without improving the facilities of the taluk-level health centres and regulating the number of patients referred. Although the services of good quality doctors are available in the lower-tier hospitals, reluctant to take responsibility in the context of increasing patient-doctor conflicts, there has been a tendency for some time to refer even those with minor ailments to medical colleges. If this is not curbed, it will only lead to the loss of treatment excellence in medical colleges.

As the epidemic worsened, patients are being referred to the medical college in large numbers at night from various hospitals in Thiruvananthapuram district, which has led to the current severe crisis. Although Health Minister Veena George has repeatedly suggested that the referral protocol be strictly followed to control the crowding in medical colleges, it has not been implemented yet for various reasons. The number of patients is highest in the general medicine department of the medical college. With this, up to three people have to be accommodated in one bed. Those who do not get a bed are sleeping on the floor. When fellow patients join, the medicine wards are so crowded that they cannot move around.

A ward with an average of 70 beds currently has 180 people. The situation where no patient will receive proper treatment if the number of patients is not reduced should be avoided. This will also lead to complaints that no doctor is checking on them. The trend of referring patients en masse from taluk hospitals like Nedumangad, Neyyattinkara, Chirayinkeezhu, Parassala, Thiruvananthapuram General Hospital, and Peroorkada to the medical college should be stopped immediately. There is a limit to the number of patients that any medical institution can accommodate. After that, even the best institution will lose its grip. That is the current situation of medical colleges.