TIRUPATI: The ambitious expansion plans of the TTD’s Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences (SVIMS) has secured the State government’s nod and the roadmap is all set for translation into action. With SVIMS entering its 25th year in 2017-18, the proposal is viewed as a silver jubilee special.
It intends to expand vertically as well as horizontally by forming speciality institutes for cardiac sciences, cancer and allied sciences, neurosciences, renal sciences and trauma and emergency care, followed by institutes with special focus on woman and child, lung disorders, transplantation, regenerative medicine and geriatrics and gastrointestinal and metabolic disorders in the long run.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who formally inaugurated SVIMS Sri Padmavathi Medical College for Women last week, was all praise for the proposal and gave a well-deserving pat for the Director and Vice-Chancellor, Tanjavur S. Ravikumar, whose term has also been extended for three years.
The departmental structure will remain unchanged for academic and statutory needs, but the institutes will deliver patient-centred, multidisciplinary care. “The cardiac institute is planned to meet patients’ requirements till the year 2035. The neurosciences institute will, apart from epilepsy, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, deal with emerging issues like mental wellness and suicidal tendency,” said Dr. Ravikumar in a special interview to The Hindu. Similarly, SVIMS Institute of Trauma and Emergency Care (SITEC) will not only deal with accident cases, but also train bystanders in saving lives at the 'golden hour’.
For the first time, SVIMS has identified policemen as the first responders and has planned to train 1,600 police personnel in CPR and other life-saving techniques.
Organ donation will be simultaneously encouraged and transplantation efficiency multiplied to achieve higher targets. “The national average is abysmally low at 0.26 per million against the 30 in western countries and hence the special focus,” he explained.
In yet another first, SVIMS is keen on handling pancreatic transplantation to tackle diabetes. With around 100 dialysis machines, the renal sciences institute will soon have one of the country's biggest dialysis centres in PPP mode.
Social outreach will see a geometric rise as SVIMS intends to expand its coverage to saturate Tirupati, Chittoor district and Rayalaseema region in the next three years with focus on better care and better health at an affordable cost.
