The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Free angioplasties for the poor

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Sunday, Oct 26, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Free angioplasties for the poor

Special Correspondent

102 procedures in five days at Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology

Bangalore: Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology here conducted 102 angioplasties along with stent implantation in five days. All the patients, who are from poor families, were not charged for the procedure and are in the process of being discharged.

The cost of an angioplasty at the Government-run Jayadeva institute is Rs. 75,000 while corporate hospitals charge much more.

‘Role model’

Minister for Medical Education Ramachandra Gowda and Secretary, Medical Education Department, M.K. Shankaralinge Gowda at a programme held at the institute to mark the completion of the Indo-American Angioplasty Workshop, described the institute as a role model for all government hospitals in the country. It is an autonomous institution and the Government only provides funds to meet the salary and the maintenance bills. The management raises funds from philanthropists to treat the poor.

Prevalent among poor

Director of the institute C.N. Manjunath said that heart disease was no longer a disease of the rich and was increasingly prevalent among the poor. Most of those who underwent angioplasty in the past few days were autorickshaw drivers, daily wage workers and farmers. “The consumables used for angioplasty and bypass surgery as well as pacemakers are very expensive, and not merely poor patients, even the middle class cannot afford these procedures. The approximate cost of these procedures is Rs. 75,000 for a patient in our Institute.”

The workshop was conducted from October 20 to 25 and was sponsored by Dr. Subramani Heart Foundation, Wisconsin, U.S., and Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology. Stents, pacemakers and balloons worth Rs. 30 lakh were donated by Dr. Subramani and Dr. Devaraj, cardiologists from the U.S., and another Rs. 30 lakh was provided by the institute.

The team of cardiologists at the institute along with the cardiologists from the U.S. worked overtime to complete the procedures. Each stent costs Rs. 50000 and a pacemaker, Rs. 1 lakh. Dr. Manjunath said the hospital had introduced a “Patient Satisfaction Survey System”. Patients are tracked after discharge to receive feedback on their experience at the hospital and ascertain whether they are taking their medication as directed. Suggestions and opinions are also taken.

To be held every year

The joint angioplasty workshop will be held every year for the benefit of poor patients. The youngest patient at the workshop was a 24-year-old daily wage earner. Thirty per cent of the patients were below 45 years of age, indication the increase of heart disease in younger people, even among the poor, Dr. Manjunath said.

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