The State government has planned to increase the number of doctors honoured every year during the Doctor’s Day celebrations, said C. Vijaya Baskar, Minister for Health.
Delivering the keynote address at the fourth annual professional conference of Diabetes Club of Tiruchirapalli on Sunday, Mr. Vijaya Baskar said that it has been planned to honour doctors of various specialities.
Referring to a plea from M.S. Ashraf, Executive Committee Member, Tamil Nadu Medical Council, for increasing the number of doctors being honoured, the Minister said that the Chief Minister was fully aware of the demand.
Lowest rate The Minister said that the infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal morbidity ratio (MMR) were the lowest in Tamil Nadu, indicating prompt delivery of healthcare in the state.
The IMR in the state stood at 21 per 1,000 live births against the national average of 42. The MMR at 71 per one lakh live birth against the national average of 150.
The State has also registered advances in cadaver transplantation and so far 2,000 transplantations had been performed.
Dr. Vijaya Baskar underlined the role of private practitioners and hospitals in achieving the State’s goal in healthcare sector.
For instance, the objective of sensitising women above 30-years of age to non-communicable diseases has also gone down well, thanks to awareness teams at government hospitals.
Similar teams would be set up at all private hospitals empanelled under the Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme shortly.
Sharp increase Referring to the sharp increase in the number of people turning diabetic, the Minister said that during 2013-14, as many as 2.66 lakh persons were found to be diabetic in the State as against 76,807 in 2012-13.
Emphasising the need for early detection and prevention of diabetes, he called upon private practitioners to play an active role.
N.S. Prasad, organising secretary, in his report, said that the club had screened one lakh children in Manikandam panchayat union and identified a few children with Type I diabetes.
The club has planned to honour post-graduate students with expertise in prevention of diabetes.
G.K.S. Sudhager, organising chairman, and M. Senthilvel, joint secretary, spoke. The Minister released a book on challenges and remedy on diabetes, and the first copy was received by Dr. Ashraf.
