The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Training for officers in diabetes management

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 10, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Training for officers in diabetes management

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: Nearly 4,000 medical officers in the primary health centres across the State will be trained in modern treatment protocols of diabetes management, Health Secretary V.K. Subbaraj said on Saturday.

Inaugurating the sixth annual all-India conference of the Diabetic Foot Society of India, Mr. Subbaraj said the Government was working out a protocol with inputs from diabetes associations and experts.

The Health Secretary, who also released a set of national guidelines on diabetic foot compiled by the society, said the guidelines would be incorporated into the training modules proposed for primary-level physicians.

Citing several measures taken on the health front in the State, Mr. Subburaj said Tamil Nadu was the first to distribute semi-auto analysers to 1,400 primary health centres to facilitate mass screening of diabetes at an early stage. Equipment worth Rs. 17.5 crore had been distributed to the PHCs and laboratory technicians trained. The Government also launched seven diagnostic centres, at a cost of Rs. 21 crore. These housed walk-in clinics for comprehensive check-up at a nominal charge.

‘Varumun Kappom’ launched six months ago with a strong preventive orientation had so far screened 30 lakh persons over 3,000 camps. The target was to conduct 9,000 camps—one for every 5,000 of population—across the State. He said the programme would go beyond identifying disorders to extend treatment. So far, one lakh persons had been identified as diabetic at these camps and they would be given drugs and insulin. He highlighted the importance of continuing medical education programmes as diabetes treatment was not adequately addressed in the medical curriculum.

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