The Government Wenlcok Hospital will be the first district hospital in the State to have an Early Intervention Centre which is expected to bring down infant mortality rate and improve mental and physical health of children.
Speaking to presspersons here on Monday, Minister for Health and Family Welfare U.T. Khader said that the centre was ready for inauguration and the department was awaiting dates of the district in-charge Minister.
Foundation stone
It might be inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah himself on April 21, if he finds time to lay the foundation stone for the new block of the hospital, Mr. Khader said.
The Minister said that along with opening the intervention centre, ASHA and anganwadi volunteers too would be trained in identifying early symptoms of diseases and deficiencies. While newborn babies would be screened at the Centre, those who could not be screened might be brought to the Centre after being identified of having ailments.
The centre would have eight outpatient departments managed by specialists and would be capable of identifying defects at birth, deficiencies, diseases as well as development delays and disabilities. If the identified disease/ defect could not be treated at government hospitals, they would be referred to private hospitals. The Centre was being established under the National Health Mission, he said. Similar centres in other district headquarters were getting ready and would be opened soon, Mr. Khader added.
Besides medical treatment, the hospital was being equipped with other facilities too. A physiotherapy centre was ready for use and would be inaugurated soon.
Similarly, testing facilities for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and extensively drug resistant TB are being set up at the Wenlock Hospital. Hitherto, testing of these types of TB had to be done either at Mysuru or at Bengaluru, Mr. Khader said. A digital X-Ray machine was also being installed at the hospital, which no other private hospital in Mangaluru had, Mr. Khader added.
