Where Dr. Ruskin Consults

Answered by Dr. Dante Ruskin · Diabetologist & Intensivist

Dr. Dante Ruskin consults daily at PPK Hospital, Marthandam, and holds monthly diabetes camps in nine towns across Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, and Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala — Swamiyarmadam, Thuckalay, Nagercoil, Colachel, Kulasekharam, Kollemcode, Parassala, Neyyattinkara and Trivandrum.

Four further locations — Chennai, Salem, Tindivanam and Bangalore — are served online only, through video second opinions and follow-ups. There is no physical clinic in those cities. Every consultation, in person or online, is backed by PPK Hospital's laboratory, wards and 24×7 ICU.

Dr. Dante Ruskin consulting a patient at PPK Hospital, Marthandam

The hub

Marthandam — PPK Hospital

Daily consultations. The main base: outpatient clinic, same-day laboratory, wards and 24×7 emergency and ICU on one campus, on the Trivandrum–Nagercoil highway opposite the CSI Church.

Monthly camps — Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu

Swamiyarmadam · junction town near Kattathurai, 15 minutes from the hub.

Thuckalay · Manali Junction area on the highway.

Nagercoil · the district seat.

Colachel · the coastal belt.

Kulasekharam · the foothills and estate belt.

Kollemcode · the Tamil Nadu–Kerala border stretch.

Monthly camps — Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala

Parassala · the first town across the border.

Neyyattinkara · the taluk headquarters town.

Trivandrum · second opinions and referral for the capital’s patients.

Online second opinions — no physical clinic

Chennai · Salem · Tindivanam · Bangalore

Video consultation only. These pages exist for patients seeking a second opinion from a senior diabetologist — often families originally from Kanyakumari or southern Kerala who want continuity in their own language, or sons and daughters arranging care for parents back home.

Why a hub-and-spoke network

Specialist care that requires a long journey gets postponed — and postponed diabetes becomes an emergency. Rather than expect ten towns to travel to one hospital, the practice travels to them: a scheduled consulting day each month, with PPK Hospital standing behind every camp for laboratory work, complications and admissions.

Patients keep one doctor and one record whether they are seen in their own town, at the hub, or on a video call. The alternative — a different doctor at each stage of an illness — is precisely what this network was built to avoid.

How consultations work →

In an emergency, go to the nearest hospital

Camps and video consultations are for planned care. In an emergency, call 108 for a free ambulance and go to the nearest hospital with an emergency department — for most of this network, that is PPK Hospital, Marthandam, which runs 24×7 emergency and ICU services.

Stroke → what to do ·

Chest pain → what to do

Frequently asked questions

Dr. Ruskin travels to each network town on a scheduled consulting day every month, so patients get specialist diabetes care without a journey. Anything needing laboratory tests, imaging or admission is referred to PPK Hospital, Marthandam, with the patient's record already in hand. Camp dates are published on each town's page.

Marthandam (daily, main base), plus monthly consulting days in Swamiyarmadam, Thuckalay, Nagercoil, Colachel, Kulasekharam and Kollemcode in Kanyakumari district, and Parassala, Neyyattinkara and Trivandrum in southern Kerala.

No. Chennai, Bangalore, Salem and Tindivanam are served by video consultation only — there is no physical clinic, no walk-in address and no in-person consultation in those cities. Patients there consult online for second opinions and follow-ups.

Choose Marthandam if you need examination, tests or a first consultation — everything is available the same day. Choose your local camp for routine reviews close to home. Choose video if you live far away, need a second opinion, or are arranging care for a parent from another city.