Government hospitals in Chennai get specialised treatment facilities worth over Rs 2 crore

CHENNAI: Two specialised treatment facilities, including a haemodialysis centre and an advanced blood therapy unit for children, were inaugurated at government hospitals in Chennai on Friday, with equipment worth a combined Rs 2.43 crore provided through philanthropic partnerships.

Health Minister KG Arunraj inaugurated the Rs 1.60 crore haemodialysis centre at the Anna Nagar Government Peripheral Hospital. The facility was established through a partnership involving Rotary organisations, Kamdar Foundation and Wockhardt Foundation, which jointly provided the medical equipment.

The centre is equipped with 10 dialysis machines manufactured by Germany-based Fresenius, a reverse osmosis water purification system, an effluent treatment plant, central air-conditioning and a diesel generator. The hospital provided the infrastructure, including the building, electricity and water supply.

Once fully operational, the centre will be able to treat 30 patients a day and provide approximately 750 dialysis sessions a month. Wockhardt Foundation will manage the dialysis services, while treatment expenses will be covered under the CM’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme.

Separately, Arunraj and School Education Minister Rajmohan inaugurated an extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) machine, worth Rs 83.50 lakh, at the advanced haematology and bone marrow transplant unit of the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children, Egmore.

Donated by Rotary Club of Anna Nagar Aditya and the UK-based Rotary Club of Lickey Hills under the Rotary Global Grant project, ‘Cancer Warrior Kids’, the equipment uses a patient’s blood cells and ultraviolet-A light to regulate immune responses. It’s particularly useful in managing graft-versus-host disease, a complication that can arise after an allogeneic bone marrow transplant.

The facility is expected to strengthen specialised post-transplant care for children, particularly those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.