Tamil Nadu has the distinction of being a trendsetter in health schemes in the country as it had among the best health indicators. The State had an Infant Mortality Rate of 21 per 1,000 live births, which was half the national rate of 42 per 1,000 live births, said Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar here on Saturday.
He was addressing the inaugural function of ‘Nalam 2014,’ a medical exhibition being held here from Saturday to Tuesday by the PSG Hospitals as part of its silver jubilee celebrations.
Maternal mortality rateMaternal mortality rate of Tamil Nadu stood at 73 per 1,00,000 births, which was less than half the national figure of 150 per 1,00,000 births.
This was achieved through the round-the-clock service provided by neonatal intensive care units and Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (CEmONC) centres set up across the State.
Tamil Nadu also accounted for the highest number of cadaver transplants in the country with 450 performed so far and as many as 2,800 organs having been transplanted.
Further, the Minister said that present All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) regime headed by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had allotted more than Rs. 7,000 crore for health, which was among the highest budgetary allocations for health sector, and next only to education.
Private hospitals also play a vital role in achieving such figures through schemes such as the Chief Minister’s Health Insurance Scheme (CMHIS). Around 96,000 persons had benefited from this scheme over the past two years in Coimbatore alone with Rs. 265 crore disbursed under CMHIS, Dr. Vijaya Baskar said.
Earlier, L. Gopalakrishnan, managing trustee of PSG Institutions, said that the 900-bed multi-speciality hospital had made rapid strides in recent years.
It was among the first institutions in the city to obtain National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) certification. It also had a simulator to train medical students at a cost of Rs. 7 crore.
The trust managed around 30 educational institutions that provided from primary education to higher education besides specialised institutions for children with special needs, he added.
Vimal Kumar Govindan, hospital medical director, said that the exhibition focussed on health promotion and creation of awareness on disease prevention among the public.
S.P. Velumani, Minister for Municipal Administration and Rural Development, R. Chinnasamy, Singanallur MLA and O.K. Chinnaraj, Mettupalayam MLA, among others took part in the function.
