The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation will start issuing biometric ‘Pehchan’ identity cards for its insured members in August, said Suman Seth, Medical Superintendent of ESIC Hospital, K.K.Nagar.
The cards would contain information about the insured person and his/her family members along with their fingerprints. This would enable the beneficiaries to seek treatment in any ESIC hospital across the country, she told media persons recently.
The hospital in K.K.Nagar caters to about 10.3 lakh beneficiaries, including 2.7 lakh employees, in the south Chennai area.
In May, the hospital will admit a dozen postgraduate students in subjects such as general surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and anaesthesia. While 40 per cent of the seats have been allotted to the State government and another 40 per cent to the Central government medical colleges, ESIC’s doctors would form 20 per cent of the intake, said Srikumari Damodaram, Dean, PG Studies. Each of the four faculties is expected to receive at least two PG students.
The K.K.Nagar hospital has renovated its third floor to accommodate the students and faculty, including classrooms and conference halls. Earlier, the third floor was being used as a ward for persons being treated for occupational diseases. The renovated floor will be inaugurated on Saturday at the valedictory of the fortnight long celebrations.
The Central government has allotted Rs.320 crore for a medical college, the building for which is coming up behind the hospital and is expected to be completed in two years’ time.
