As part of the precautionary measures being taken by the district administration to prevent outbreak of fever cases ahead of the north-east monsoon, Minister for Information Technology M Kanikandan inaugurated a round-the-clock fever ward at the district headquarters hospital here on Monday.
Five medical officers serving in the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in the district have been deputed to serve in the 24x7 ward for male, female and children. The medical officers will work on shifts and at least one of them will be available at any given time in the ward.
A similar ward was also inaugurated at the Government hospital in Paramakudi to treat people affected with all types of fever.
After inaugurating the ward, along with Collector S Natarajan, Mr. Manikandan, a physician-turned-politician donned the role of a doctor and examined patients at the dengue ward.
As dengue fever posed a threat throughout the State, people who were admitted to the ward with symptoms of fever would be subjected to all necessary tests for dengue, malaria and other vector borne diseases. They would be subjected to blood test and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test to detect infectious agents, the Minister said.
They would also be tested for platelets counts and the testing facilities would be available round the clock. Medical officers who were serving in PHCs would take turn every week to serve the special ward. This would also help them to get trained in fever management.
The district administration proposed to set up similar wards in all the government hospitals and PHCs in the district, Mr Natarajan said. The government had sanctioned ₹19.69 crore for upgrading government hospitals and PHCs with the latest equipment such as MRI and CT scans.
Earlier, the Minister paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi by garlanding his statue at the municipality complex and asked officials to intensify the drive to prevent outbreak of dengue and other viral fevers.
Headquarters hospital superintendent (in-charge) Dr. Jawaharlal, and Deputy Director, Health Services, Dr. Kumaragurubaran were present on the occasion.
