The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Dental college infrastructure will be boosted, says State Health Minister

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Sunday, Nov 05, 2006
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Dental college infrastructure will be boosted, says State Health Minister

Staff Reporter

Principal pleads for better facilities, more posts

Chennai : The Government will take steps to improve infrastructure at the Tamil Nadu Government Dental College and Hospital (TNGDCH), Minister for Health and Family Welfare, K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran, said on Friday.

Addressing students at the inauguration of `Prakriti '06,' the student cultural programme of the College, the Minister said that 50 dentists would be appointed in Government Hospitals this year, and steps taken to appoint them in Village Public Health Centres. Joking about the condition of hostels in the Dental College, the Minister said that he wondered if insurance was required to even enter the building.

The Chief Minister had sanctioned Rs. 2,000 crore for construction of new buildings in medical colleges, including the TNGDCH, in Tamil Nadu.

C. Kumaravelu, Principal of TNGDCH, said that the basic medical facilities and hostels were shared with the Madras Medical College. The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Ward and operation theatre are also shared with the MMC.

The Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department of the TNGDCH was the only referral centre for the whole State.

In the present scenario of increasing road traffic accidents, this speciality of dentistry was in demand in medical colleges.

"Before the demolition of the old building in the Government General Hospital, we had 10 beds and two theatre days a week," the Principal said, pointing out that a duty room was given for Duty Assistant Professors and Post Graduates and House Surgeons. However, after the demolition, the duty room was not given and the beds were reduced to six.

Even after the construction of the twin tower block, the duty room was not restored. The College continued to have only six beds, and that too after great persuasion and the theatre days were reduced to only one day per week, he said. This had put the College as well as patients to inconvenience and the dentists were forced to operate many cases under local anaesthesia as outpatients, he said, requesting the Minister to increase the bed strength to 20, additional theatre days and restoration of the duty room.

He also asked for sanctioning of posts for the speciality of Paedodontia and Community Dentistry.

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