CHENNAI: Health Minister Ma Subramanian inaugurated a new dialysis facility at the Nandivaram Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) on Saturday.

Several medical infrastructure projects worth Rs 1.81 crore were inaugurated including 5 new dialysis machines worth Rs 1 crore, an additional vaccine storage cold storage facility worth Rs 66 lakh, and a Siddha medicine department worth Rs 15 lakh.

Dialysis facilities are usually available only at district headquarters hospitals, medical college hospitals, and multi-specialty hospitals in India. “Tamil Nadu has 1,115 dialysis centres and 115 dialysis machines were installed in the past three years, considering the increasing need for dialysis. In addition, work is currently underway to set up 40 new dialysis machines,” he added.

Subramanian said that the Nandivaram UPHC epitomises the State’s commitment to healthcare, and has been recognised as a model centre by the GoI.

“Maharashtra’s health minister and other officials from the state had visited the centre recently and were impressed with the facilities there. A team of 120 doctors from Gujarat visited Tamil Nadu to study the healthcare initiatives,” he added. “They said that even 1/3rd of these facilities were not available in Gujarat.”

There are 424 UPHCs in the State and if CSR contributors want to sponsor dialysis machines, “the government will definitely support them. Free dialysis treatment is being provided in 600 private hospitals through the CM’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme,” stated the minister.