Tamil Nadu cannot be complacent just because it has fewer COVID-19 cases as compared to other States. The State government should be more aggressive and proactive, N. Murali, chairman, Kasturi and Sons Ltd., said on Saturday.
He was speaking at the 12th annual day of the Aishwarya Trust. The trust, which works with underprivileged families to reduce the infant mortality rate, through early detection and treatment of congenital heart defects (CHD), along with a team of doctors from MGM healthcare, has supported surgical treatment for 502 children with CHD, including 21 transplants.
Mr. Murali, who was the chief guest for the event, said he was sure that the government would announce some measures in the coming days. Pointing out that India was in the midst of a serious pandemic, he said: “Infectious disease specialists are predicting a hike in the number of infected cases here because its spread is not just from foreign travel but also through contact. All of us have to take elementary precautions. Probably it’s time even Tamil Nadu suspends, for a few weeks, some major activities like cinemas and large gatherings. IPL has already been suspended till April 15.”
Speaking about the yeoman service rendered by Aishwarya Trust and the team of doctors, he said child healthcare was neglected by public health policies and private hospitals. He said it was heartening to see people like cardiothoracic surgeon K.R. Balakrishnan, who is a trustee of the body, come forward even in the face of such constraints to transform the lives of people.
Dr. Balakrishnan said there were very few children’s hospitals in the country. He spoke about the activities of the trust. “The trust has been supporting clinical work for heart diseases in children through surgery and transplant programme. Going forward, we have some important research projects in the pipeline. One of them is to create an artificial heart pump. This will bring more affordable heart care to larger sections of the society,” he said.
Prashanth Rajagopalan, director, MGM Healthcare Pvt Ltd., the partner hospital for the trust, spoke at the event.
