Work on the Urban Primary Health Care (PHC) centre near Veeramamunivar park in J.J. Nagar in Mogappair is nearing completion, with more than 90 per cent of the work including, plastering and painting work, having been completed.
In fact, the PHC is the first government hospital to come up in the neighbourhood, after many years. The new centre is expected to be opened by the end of the year.
Funded under the general funds of the Zone – 7 (Ambattur) of Chennai Corporation, the Rs 66.50 lakh hospital will have a dedicated maternity ward with an accommodation of at least 20 patients, separate rooms for doctors, nurses and paramedical staff, visitors hall on the ground floor of the hospital.
On the first floor, the hospital will have an outpatient unit where around 50 patients can be accommodated at a time. The new PHC is built on a 1,500 sq.ft. plot that comes under 93 ward of Zone – 7 and will be maintained by civic officials.
“The new hospital is a boon to the residents of the neighbourhood as many of them have to go to private hospitals where consultation fees are high. Such a hospital, especially for maternity services, is needed in the locality,” said S. Vasantha, a resident of Mogappair.
Unlike the other areas within Anna Nagar limits, Nolambur, Thirumangalam and JJ Nagar have a high percentage of high-income group residents.
Further, most of these areas have senior citizens and retired government staff too. Also, neighbourhoods like J.J. Nagar, which are proximate to Ambattur Industrial Estate in Ambattur, draw people from neighbouring states including Andhra Pradesh and Orissa who are employed at the industrial estate. For them especially for migrants from other states, the new PHC will be a major relief as they can get immediate medical help with no costs from the public facility.
Most of the migrant workers in the neighbourhood live with their families and situations for medical interventions often arise.
This is one of the major reasons for having a dedicated maternity ward at the new PHC.
“The locality (93th ward) has around 33,000 residents and the new PHC would benefit them to a larger extent,” said a Corporation official.
