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'Leprosy occurrence cut by nearly half'

By Our Staff Reporter

PONDICHERRY, JUNE 24. The Pondicherry Government had taken steps to start a medical college this academic year in the Union Territory, the Chief Minister, N. Rangasamy said today. He said he had already talked to the Union Health Minister regarding approval of the college.

Distributing individual health cards under a Health Department scheme at the Primary Health Centre at Kalapet near here, he said health services in Pondicherry had improved greatly. Patients who could not be treated in the Centrally-administered JIPMER hospital were being sent to the Pondicherry Government General Hospital, which showed that first-class health services were available here.

He said that Pondicherry was the first State in the country to launch health cards for residents of Pondicherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam. The Rs 1.2 crores health cards scheme would cover 9 lakh residents of Pondicherry. It would carry details of the health of the individuals.

The Chief Minister also said that a post graduate medical institute would also come up to enable MBBS graduates to enhance their knowledge and skills.

The Health Minister, E. Valsaraj, listed the steps taken to post doctors in consultation with the Union Public Service Commission. The Health Department had succeeded in bringing down the rate of occurrence of leprosy from 2.7 per 10,000 three years ago to 1.4 per 10,000 now, he said.

Mr. Valsaraj said the department would fill 350 nurses posts in a phased manner in government hospitals.

The arrangement to have private doctors man Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in the afternoons was only an ad hoc arrangement.

Once the posts now lying vacant were filled, this would be discontinued, he promised.

He said that the Administration was spending Rs 80 crores on the health sector.

He appealed to the Chief Minister to enhance this to Rs 100 crores in the coming budget.

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