M.V. Hospital for Diabetes, Royapuram, on Saturday, signed a memorandum of understanding with Wound Healing Group, University of Southampton, UK, to promote diabetic wound care methods, research and training in India.
The agreement was signed by Vijay Viswanathan, managing director, M.V. Hospital for Diabetes and Prof. M. Viswanathan Diabetes Research Centre, and Raj Mani, faculty of medicine and health and life sciences, School of Medicine, University of Southampton, UK.
Mike Nithavrianakis, Deputy High Commissioner, British High Commission was present at the meeting.
Dr. Viswanathan spoke of the socio-economic impacts on wounds in diabetes patients.
There were 285 million people with diabetes in 2010, according to the Diabetes Atlas, 50.8 million of who were in India. The deaths due to diabetes in 2007 were about 3.7 million, he said.
Wound care is very expensive in India, and especially so with the diabetic population, Dr. Viswanathan said.
The challenge was not only to improve wound care and treatment facilities but also stress on prevention among the population and heath care practitioners.
Finn Gottrup, Professor of Surgery, Copenhagen Wound Healing Centre, stressed on the importance of wound care for senior citizens.
There are going to be more older people in the coming years, and if they have conditions such as diabetes, the chances of wounds are higher. The quality of life decreases and the costs are tremendous for patients and society, he added.
Some of the key aspects he stressed are optimal wound care, using standardised and evidence-based procedures, registering patient data, spreading awareness among patients and health care professionals.
Mr. Nithavrianakis said universities in the UK were keen to work with Indian institutions, on a partnership of equals. Saturday's MoU would bring together two equals and result in a win-win situation for them.
Prof. Mani spoke of the key strengths of the University of Southampton, and said the MoU would facilitate an exchange of scientific, academic and technical information between the two partners.
They would together identify opportunities for exchange, joint research and development, promote education and training in wound healing and improve skills of practitioners committed to it.
