The neonatal care unit of the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) ranked first among Sick Newborn Care Unit (SNCU) of Government hospitals in the State for overall performance in the year 2017.
As per the ranking based on SNCU Quality of Care Index (SQCI), an initiative by National Health Mission to check and improve quality of newborn care across the country, CMCH also recorded the highest survival rate in treating children with very low birth weight.
While CMCH ranked first with a score of 67 %, the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children, Egmore, and K.A.P. Viswanatham Government Medical College, Tiruchi, stood in the second and third positions.
The SQCI ranking is done after analysing online data entered by institutions with regard to seven indices under SQCI such as rational admission index, rational use of antibiotics index, inborn birth asphyxia index, index for mortality in babies with birth weight, low birth weight admission index, low birth weight survival index and optimal bed utilisation index. V. Booma, Head of the Department of Paediatrics and nodal officer for special neonatal unit at CMCH, said that the hospital recorded 85 % survival rate in the treatment and management of newborns weighing between 1kg and 1.5 kg.
“We are getting newborns with very low birth weight from neighbouring districts and parts of Kerala. The paediatric ward treats a minimum of 100 newborns at any given point of time of which 40% are in the category of very low birth weight (1.5 kg and below). Even newborns weighing 550g to 600g have survived,” said Dr. Booma.
The neonatal unit is also giving training to post-natal mothers on Kangaroo Mother Care concept which ensures skin-to-skin contact of mother and newborns, especially preterm babies. “This method has been found very effective as the child gets the right temperature from mother's body and strengthens their bond. This also ensures frequent breastfeeding,” said neonatologist P. Senthilkumar.
Apart from neonatologists and trained nursing staff, the special neonatal unit at CMCH has 15 ventilators, CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machines, and human milk bank. The District Early Intervention Centre detects congenital disorders in children and offers treatment for them.
