The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Efforts to make hospital of thoracic medicine a centre of excellence

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Aug 27, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Efforts to make hospital of thoracic medicine a centre of excellence

Staff Reporter

Anbumani inaugurates buildings for Tamil Nadu AIDS Control Society

CHENNAI: Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said on Saturday that efforts would be made to make the Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine at Tambaram a centre of excellence in treating AIDS.

Inaugurating the new buildings for the Tamil Nadu State Aids Control Society (TANSACS) in the hospital, he said the State Government had donated land for setting up an Indian Public Health School, at a cost Rs. 100 crore, at Melakottur in Kancheepuram. The Government had also donated 50 acres for a Siddha medicine research unit at Padappai.

A large amount of money was likely to reach the State following the Centre's approval for improving medical education and treatment in Tamil Nadu.

The Salem Government Hospital would receive Rs. 120 crore for upgrading its facilities. While the Centre would give Rs. 100 crore, the State would chip in with Rs. 20 crore. One government hospital had been identified in each State to receive a similar grant.

The new buildings, which cost Rs. 7.5 crore, are the joint efforts of the Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention and Global AIDS Program. They comprised an anti-retroviral therapy wing, an upgraded state-of-the-art laboratory and a training centre. The anti-retroviral therapy wing has more than a dozen consulting rooms, besides counselling centres and conference halls. The training centre will accommodate officials from across the country. The Tambaram hospital, which provides free anti-retroviral therapy to nearly 4,000 patients every year, is considered one of the best in South Asia, Dr. Ramadoss said.

Under phase III of the National AIDS Control Organisation, for which Rs. 12,000 crore would be set apart, 100 anti-retroviral therapy centres would be established to provide free therapy to one lakh people.

State Health Minister K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran sought a testing centre, similar to the one in Pune, to reduce the delay in diagnosing the chikungunya infection. He also urged Dr. Anbumani to provide funds for upgrading the government hospital at Madurai.

S. Rajasekaran, superintendent, Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine; V.K. Subburaj, Health secretary; T.M. Anbarasan, Labour Minister; David T. Hopper, Consul-General, US Consulate, Chennai; S.R. Raja, Tambaram MLA; P. Vijayalakshmi, Director of Medical Education; Supriya Sahu, projector director, TANSACS; and Dora L. Warren and Michael Friedman of Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention, Global AIDS Program, spoke.

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