Sholinganallur Government Hospital upgrade soon: Minister Arunraj

CHENNAI: Health and Family Welfare Minister KG Arunraj said on Tuesday that the State government will upgrade the 262-bed Sholinganallur Government Peripheral Hospital into a Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) centre, providing round-the-clock maternity services.

After inspecting the hospital, the minister said the proposed facility would help pregnant women in the locality access maternity services closer to home, rather than travelling to Government Kasturba Gandhi Hospital for Women and Children in Triplicane to give birth.

"The hospital will be upgraded as a CEmONC centre to provide maternity services round the clock. Necessary steps will be taken to establish the required facilities," he said.

The hospital currently has specialist doctors and 83 trainee doctors. He added that their deployment would be streamlined to ensure the facility functions round the clock.

During the inspection, Arunraj reviewed the outpatient, accident and emergency, ophthalmology and dental departments, besides examining sanitation facilities. He also checked the attendance registers of doctors, nurses and other staff and directed officials to introduce biometric attendance monitoring.

On urban healthcare infrastructure, he said the government had announced in this year's Budget the recruitment of doctors, nurses and technical personnel to strengthen urban primary healthcare centres. The government would issue Government Orders for the appointments shortly.

He also said dengue remained under control in the State and urged the public to prevent water stagnation around their homes and cooperate with mosquito-control workers.

In a separate development, Gleneagles Hospital in Chennai has performed more than 250 living donor liver transplantations under the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS) since 2018, including over 100 procedures on children with end-stage liver disease.

The hospital reported a one-year patient survival rate of around 95 per cent and a five-year rate exceeding 85 per cent. The insurance scheme also covers post-transplant medical care and medication for up to two years, subject to its provisions.

At an event organised to mark the milestone, beneficiaries, family members and living donors from across the State expressed gratitude to the Tamil Nadu government and the hospital's transplant team led by Dr Joy Varghese.

Arunraj, who attended as the chief guest, interacted with recipients and donors and appreciated the medical team's contribution. Sholinganallur MLA ECR P Saravanan and Director of Medical Education and Research A Aravind were among those present.