To make lives easier for patients and ensure they get good, healthy food in the course of their treatment, The Earnakulam General Hospital have come up with various initiatives in this regard.A first one of its kind project, the place offers food to all patients free of cost, without any difference to APL and BPL families.The dietary department is managed by the Hospital Development Society under the chairmanship of the District Collector of Ernakulam.The project was designed a long time back as part of the Government’s Social Security Mission.Due to a lack of funds, the project remained only on paper.It was finally on October 20, 2011 that the intitiave was implemented.In a meeting chaired by Ernakulam District collector P I Sheik Pareeth, a discussion about the project had taken place.Following the decision, consultant nutritionist Mumtaz Khalid Ismail designed a modern kitchen for the hospital.The initial expenses for the construction and for the purchase of the kitchen equipments - amounting to ` 15 lakhs - were raised from the MPLADS fund of MP P Rajeev.The other donor was Kochi Refinary Ltd, who gave ` 10 lakhs for the same.The purpose of the Dietary Department as it exists now is to provide high quality, nourishing and attractive meals that meet the specific nutritional needs of the individual patients, as prescribed by the doctors.The hospital is now providing food for all the patients in their rooms and in the dining hall for bystanders.All three meals and evening tea are provided free of cost as per diet specification.The notable feature about the project is that the patients need not wait in a queue and receive food according to their specific medical needs.According to Hospital superintendent, Dr.M.I.Junaid Rahman, considering that private hospitals provide meals for patients on their beds, the same should be implemented in general hospitals as well.Apart from providing food, the department assesses all the in patients and advices them on the appropriate food they should be taking.Around thirty employees are currently working in the kitchen.Fifty percentage of the cost is borne by Rosary of Divine charitable society.Yet, meeting the expenses of the project is a Herculean task for the hospital.The superintendent says that they sometimes do ask the big shots who come to the hospital to invite them for a marriage or any other function, to provide some financial assistance."There were so many people who donated money in small amounts after they were made aware about this service,” he says.
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