Mental healthcare in the State has received a shot in the arm, with Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar announcing three initiatives involving the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) on Tuesday.
To improve mental health services, a Centre of Excellence will be established at IMH at a cost of ₹25.41 crore, besides a ₹2.5-crore rehabilitation centre and an occupational mental health outpatient clinic for combating depression among fishermen and workers in the unorganised sector.
In addition to these, the Health Department has come up with a ‘Home Again’ scheme to provide a home environment for those who have recovered from such illnesses. This initiative will be implemented in partnership with an NGO at a cost of ₹1.38 crore.
For the first time in the country, an Obstetric Triaging System for improving maternal health will be established in 22 government medical college hospitals at a cost of ₹22 lakh. To prevent deaths due to postpartum haemorrhage, Thrombo-elastograph equipment will be provided to three medical college hospitals at a cost of ₹36 lakh.
Drugs testing laboratory
The Minister announced the establishment of a drugs testing laboratory in Madurai at a cost of ₹20 crore.
All district hospitals and taluk and non-taluk hospitals will get generators and inverters for uninterrupted power supply, at a cost of ₹21 crore.
Along the lines of Parent-Teacher Associations in government schools, a Hospital Development Committee will be formed at all government hospitals.
For the safety of doctors and nurses of major government hospitals, the Minister announced that a hotline will be set up for seeking immediate police intervention.
A toll-free integrated ‘Mothering Helpline’ will be set up in Chennai to provide information on the growth of newborns. Crèches will be established in all government hospitals in the State.
The Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital will get a portable CT scan at a cost of ₹7 crore to strengthen the Tamil Nadu Accident and Emergency Care Initiative and an ECMO machine for its Intensive Care Unit at a cost of ₹45 lakh.
A survey on the prevalence of tuberculosis in Tamil Nadu will be taken up at a cost of ₹9.5 crore. Nucleic Acid Testing facilities for diagnosis of TB will come up in 385 designated microscopy centres at a cost of ₹17.5 crore.
AI research
Artificial Intelligence research will commence in government medical colleges with support from the Indian Council of Medical Research.
The Minister announced the creation of a corpus fund for doctors, staff nurses and other workers of the Health Department.
An additional 121 Basic Life Support Ambulances at a cost of ₹26.39 crore and 120 Adult Retrieval Vehicles for transporting critically ill patients from government hospitals to tertiary care hospitals as part of the Inter Facility Transfer initiative at a cost of ₹19.20 crore will be rolled out.
The Minister also announced the creation of a registry for voluntary blood donors, a cardiac registry of expectant mothers and a registry for haemoglobinopathy and haemophilia paediatric patients.
