A blood bank upgraded at a cost of Rs. 20 lakh and a clubfoot clinic was inaugurated by Chief Minister N. Rangasamy at the Indira Gandhi Government General Hospital and Post Graduate Institute on Thursday, during celebrations of the National Voluntary Blood Donation month.
The blood bank, housed in the Department of Transfusion Medicine, has been equipped with advanced facilities like component separators, cold storage units and blood screening instruments. “With each blood donation, four lives can be saved as each unit of blood can be separated into various components like fresh frozen plasma, cryoprecipitate, platelets and packed cells.
The cold storage facility can store blood components like fresh frozen plasma,” said Dr. K.V. Raman, Director, Department of Health and Family Welfare Services.
Eight donors
Eight donors can be accommodated in a single sitting in the new premises of 3000 square feet. The blood bank will cater to requirements of other government hospitals and private institutions as well. The special ward at the hospital was also renovated at a cost of Rs. 15 lakhs.
Mr. Rangasamy honoured the blood donors and said the government was involved in strengthening the Primary Health Centres and it would also provide them with additional funds.
He said adequate doctors on contract basis were serving in Puducherry. Dr. Raman said that the Union Territory of Puducherry had fulfilled all the Millennium Development Goals several years ago, and thanked the government for allocating around 10 per cent of the budget for health.
MLA K. Lakshminarayanan asked the government and health authorities to focus on health education, and suggested that private medical colleges get more involved in community health initiatives through CSR and other programmes.
Mr. Lakshminarayanan asked the government to implement the health card initiative covering the entire population of the UT.
Clubfoot clinic
The clubfoot clinic, which will operate on Wednesdays at the hospital, has been opened in association with CURE International India, an NGO which aims to eradicate disability caused by clubfoot in India by setting up free clubfoot clinics. While clubfoot can be treated, its neglect leads to lifetime disability. There are an estimated 50,000 children born with clubfoot deformity in India every year.
Treatment will be provided using the Ponseti method for clubfoot correction.
The agreement with the Puducherry government will enable the training of orthopaedic surgeons, setting up of a helpline, placement of counsellors at the clinic and distribution of free foot abduction brace to every child with clubfoot.
