Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma. Subramanian on Sunday said that the existing dilapidated Government taluk hospitals in Ambur and Vaniyambadi towns in Tirupattur will move to new six-storey buildings this year as construction work of these buildings is in full swing.
Mr. Subramanian was on a day-long inspection of government hospitals and ongoing infrastructure works related to healthcare in Vellore and Tirupattur districts. “Work on new primary healthcare centres and sub-health centres in Tirupatur is also in full swing. The new works will be completed before the stipulated deadline,” he said.
At Ambur, the taluk hospital will be replaced by a new building by end of the year with specialised healthcare for eye, ENT, dental, orthopaedics and cardiology at a cost of ₹24.31 crore. The hospital has specialised treatment for pregnancy and child care, a trauma care unit, paediatrics, orthopaedics, an antiretroviral therapy (ART) centre, and general medicine. Every day, on an average, over 2,000 out-patients visit the hospital.
As per the plan, the new building will have separate units for orthopaedics, ENT, eye, neurology, diabetics, and general medicine. Additional surgical theatres for these specialisations will be built. The outpatients will be treated in the spacious hall on the ground floor of the new building.
The hospital in Vaniyambadi will also have similar facilities. It is being built at a cost of ₹23.64 crore.
The District Headquarters Government Hospital in Tirupattur town will soon get additional facilities including a seven-storey new building this year. On average, the hospital gets 2,700 outpatients every day. The hospital has 440 beds, of which at least 360 are occupied by patients throughout the year. The new building will also have an integrated laboratory, a District Early Intervention Centre (DEIC) for rehabilitation of children up to the age of six, a dialysis unit, and an emergency unit for accident victims. More wards for men and women would also be created, he said.
Allaying fears about COVID-19 sub-variant JN.1, the Health Minister said that Tamil Nadu had reported less than 20 cases compared to States like Kerala where hundreds of cases had been reported every day. Also, there had been no clusters of COVID-19 cases in the State. However, the State government has taken all precautionary measures against it and asked people not to get panicky.
