The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Jayadeva Institute to upgrade its satellite centres

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Tuesday, May 20, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Jayadeva Institute to upgrade its satellite centres

Special Correspondent

Experts will be sent to the centres for conducting surgeries

SJIC now has the highest number of postgraduate seats in cardiology in the country
The institute will be able to conduct 10 to 12 open heart surgeries daily

— Photo: K. Murali Kumar

Towards better care: Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde (left) and SJIC Director C.N. Manjunath, at the inauguration of the new operation theatre in Bangalore on Monday.

BANGALORE: The Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology (SJIC) is planning to upgrade its five satellite centres in the State to ensure better cardiac care in rural areas and to prevent patients from flocking to Bangalore in search of medical care.

The SJIC Director C.N. Manjunath on Monday, said equipment required for conducting preliminary cardiac investigations, such as the treadmill test, has been provided to the satellite centres in Raichur, Bidar, Shimoga, Hubli and Madikeri.

Training

Besides training the doctors at the hospitals in the five districts, the SJIC has plans to send its experts to the satellite centres on a regular basis for carrying out surgical procedures.

Subsequently, these centres would be upgraded and they would function as branches of SJIC, Dr. Manjunath told presspersons after the launch of the fourth operation theatre at the institute here.

A telemedicine hub has been established with the support of Indian Space Research Organisation and the SJIC has been linked to all the government medical colleges and district hospitals in the State.

This has been of great help in screening patients at district centres and providing medical aid locally, if their condition is not serious enough to be treated at SJIC, he said.

Earlier, at the launch of the operation theatre, the Principal Secretary, Medical Education, M.K. Shankaralinge Gowda, made out a case for SJIC opening its branches in other parts of the State.

The government would consider any proposal made by the Institute in this regard, he said.

PG seats

Dr. Manjunath said that the Medical Council of India has recently increased the D.M. (Cardiology) and M.Ch (surgery) seats in the SJIC from three to 10, and two to five, respectively.

With this increase, the SJIC now has the highest number of postgraduate seats in cardiology in the country, he said. With the launch of the fourth operation theatre, established at a cost of Rs. 2 crore, the institute will be able to conduct 10 to 12 open heart surgeries daily as against the eight at present. During 2007, 1,700 open heart surgeries were conducted.

The projected number of such surgeries for the current year is 2,500. Plans are on to establish the fifth operation theatre by 2010, he said.

Record

During 2007, the SJIC had created an international record by conducting 71,000 echo-cardiograms and 1,100 mitral valvuloplasties and set a national record by performing 11,000 cathlab procedures.

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