A 32-day-old baby brought to the special neonatal care unit at Government Hospital, Tirupattur, with severe breathing problems, is recuperating after treatment and care provided by paramedical staff and paediatricians. This is not an isolated case of precise medical attention and care given by the hospital.
Three more babies are under the care of paediatricians working round-the-clock towards providing lifecare support to newborns.
On February 24, the Special Neonatal Care Unit (SNCU) celebrated its tenth anniversary with over 18,000 cases treated so far. Doctors working in paediatric emergency care said the exclusive neonatal care unit provided emergency medical care to newborns, thereby helping in reducing the postneonatal mortality and infant mortality rate (IMR).
With the unit’s establishment in 2011, the infant mortality rate which was reported at 36 per 1000 live births, has now come down considerably, said R. Senthilkumaran, Nodal Officer, SNCU, Tirupattur.
Neonatal ICU
The National Rural Health Mission Tamil Nadu (NRHM) chose this hospital as one of the centres to start Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), with an allocation of ₹20.5 lakh, he said.
The hospital handles cases referred from 36 public health centres in and around Tirupattur, in addition to patients from Krishnagiri, Singarapettai block and Uthangarai.
So far, the SNCU has treated 2,217 neonatal jaundice cases and 2,297 sepsis cases, apart from providing medical care for 572 cases of congenial anomaly. The SNCU has cared for 2,274 preterm babies and out of this 60 were reported as extreme preterm babies, which were successfully treated. Dr. Senthilkumaran said, “Ambulances with equipment to provide critical care to newborns has helped many reach the hospital in time from far off places.”
Paediatric Resuscitation and Emergency Medical (PREM) unit was set up at the Government Hospital, Tirupattur, after increased instances of neonatal cases. At present the neonatal care ward contains normal and non-invasive ventilators, pulse oxymeters and multi channel monitors, besides beds in the unit.
Among other initiatives, doctors and nurses were trained in resuscitating babies soon after birth and a separate building for Kangaroo Mother Care facility is coming up at the hospital. Equipment will be installed after the construction of the new building, said Chief Medical Officer, S. Dileepan.
“We have trained doctors and nurses to identify visible defects in newborns that could be life threatening. Congenital malformations are a good chunk and it is being handled in the neonatal period. The babies are referred for or surgical management,” he said.
The neonatal care unit has tie-ups with Apollo Children’s Hospital for cardiac screening and ophthalmic issues such as vitreoretinal problems are taken care by Radhatri Nethralaya, Chennai.
