TN lays foundation stone for ₹256 crore health infra projects

Health Minister Ma. Subramanian laid foundation stone for ₹256 crore worth buildings at Government Stanley Hospital on Wednesday.

The hospital, which caters to the north Chennai population, has 65 operating theatres and does over 180 surgeries every day, the Minister said after commissioning various facilities, including four operating theatres.

The facilities at the hospital had come up with CSR funds from organisations such as BPCL, SRPL, CPCL besides support from Rotary International. The hospital has received an ambulance, state-of-the art equipment, and lifts at a total cost of ₹4.80 crore received from companies’ CSR funds.

“More facilities will be commissioned soon in Salem, Tiruchi and Tirunelveli with funds from Japan International Cooperation Agency,” he said, adding that the same agency had given funds for constructing the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Madurai but the building was yet to take shape. While the Union government sanctioned funds for 10 AIIMS across other parts of the country only Tamil Nadu had to seek funds from JICA, he said.

More facilities planned
“In the next 18 months ₹159 crore worth facilities will be coming up in Stanley. We have planned an 8-storey building at ₹53 crore for IOG,” he said. The government dental college will get four additional floors with modern equipment for dental students at a cost of ₹64.09 crore, he added. “We have laid foundation stone for building worth around ₹256 crore. All the buildings will be in use within 18 months,” he said.

As part of the Neengal Nalama initiative, Subramanian spoke to people from other districts who had been treated in government hospitals in Chennai.

The various health schemes of the government had ensured that the number of persons seeking treatment in government hospitals in the past 30 months had gone up, the Minister said.

Subramanian said the medical colleges deans were instructed not to interfere in the cultural and religious preferences of students from other States studying here. The instruction followed a complaint from Kashmiri students in Chengalpattu Medical College that the dean wanted all students to be clean shaven.

“The dean has explained that it was a general instruction and not specific to students from a community, or student group,” he said. Senior health department officials besides Kalanidhi Veerasami, the north Chennai Member of Parliament and elected representatives of the legislative assembly participated in the event. The Hindu