The COVID-19 hospital attached to the King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research, Guindy, is all set to become a geriatric facility, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said on Thursday. The hospital will have 150 beds and provide care for geriatric persons in and around Saidapet, he said. Work on developing it would be completed within a month, the Minister said.
A geriatric facility was proposed by the previous government seven years ago.
“During the pandemic, it was converted into a temporary hospital by adding 200 beds to treat COVID patients. For the past three months, there has been no admission of COVID patients and it has been proposed to repurpose it into a geriatric care facility,” Mr. Subramanian said while commissioning a dedicated dialysis unit developed by the Rotary International at a cost of ₹2.5 crore.
The health officials were in discussion with the Union Health Ministry, the Minister said.
Over the past several years, the hospital had been equipped with ₹2 crore worth oxygen generators provided by Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin, he said.
A new x-ray unit at a cost of ₹55 lakh was commissioned from the MLA’s Local Area Development Fund during in his previous tenure, the Minister said.
New hospital
The Chief Minister had launched the construction of a new multi speciality hospital with 200 beds at an estimated ₹40 crore.
The government planned to set up a comprehensive emergency obstetrics and new born care centre in the proposed hospital. Efforts were on to expedite the construction of the hospital, the Minister said during his visit.
