Healthcare @ Kochi

[mohammedirshad06]

The Kochi Corporation had launched the Vayomitram project for the elderly with much fanfare in October, but senior citizens will have to wait till December 7 to get the benefits of the project. The project, a joint venture of Kerala Social Security Mission (KSSM) and National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), was introduced with the objective of providing free medical facilities to people above the age of 60.

The project includes a mobile clinic which offers palliative care and is equipped to conduct basic health tests. "The ambulance and doctor required for the mobile unit will be put in place. The unit will be on the move and will assist people at their place" says T K Asharaf, chairman, health committee.

While the NHRM will make the services of a doctor available for the mobile unit, the state government will provide the ambulance. The medicines will be contributed by the public.

The civic body has set up a 'Pakalveedu' at Fort Kochi to take care of the elderly. Through the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP), the corporation has been given Rs 20 lakh to form a geriatric club for the protection and well-being of senior citizens. It is expected that the club will be able to provide assistance to 20 citizens a day.

Apart from these old age homes, the Relief Settlement Centre at Palluruthy and special care centre Good Hope at Fort Kochi also house elderly people. According to K J Sohan, chairman, planning committee, there are more than 300 people in the old age homes run by the local body.

"The corporation will come up with more projects for the destitute and elderly. Discussions in this regard are happening at various levels," says Ashraf.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/10935938.cms

[dhanesh2k]

Chandy opens medicos' fete

The 27th Inter Medicos Arts and Sports Festival, ‘Plexus 2011', was inaugurated by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at the Co-operative Medical College, Kalamassery here on Thursday.

Co-curricular activities are as important as academics, he said while inaugurating the festival.

Twenty-one medical colleges from the State are taking part in the four-day festival. Those participating comprise five government, 14 self-financing and two co-operative sector medical colleges.

The arts festival was inaugurated by actor Jayaram. K. Babu, Minister for Excise, presided over the function. Competitions were held on the first days in various items including Kathaprasangam, lalithaganam, oppana, classical music, folk dance, story writing, poetry writing, painting and collage.

About 3,000 students will be participating in the 90 events at the festival.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...cle2683223.ece

[dhanesh2k]

PLEXUS-11 concludes

Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College (GMC) bagged the overall championship at Plexus-11, the 27th All-Kerala Inter Medicos Fest. Alappuzha GMC came in runner-up and Thrissur GMC second runners-up. The four-day celebrations came to an end on Sunday.

Athira R Nath from Kottayam GMC won the title in kalathilakam with 17 points and Sujith Varghese of T’puram GMC won the kalaprathibha with 15 points.

Ritu R Krishna (13 pts) of Pariyaram Medical College got the Chitrapratibha title and Angel Ann Mathew (10 pts) of Kochi Cooperative Medical College bagged the Sargapratibha title. Minister for Cooperation C N Balakrishnan was the chief guest at the valedictory ceremony.

The four-day event was inaugurated by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at the Cooperative Medical College on December 1.

The spirit and colours at the events struck the chords in every heart when the 102 events took off one after another at numerous venues.

Around 2,500 participants and an equal number of students from 22 colleges converged on the campus. This is the first time that both government and private medical colleges have competed together. All the four stages saw contestants putting their best foot forward in games, music, skits, plays, dance, talk and writing and art giving the judges a tough time.

Nostalgia, in which students had to dance to the tunes created before 1980 was a big hit.

Other popular programmes were whistling a song, self-portrait making, group dance, both male and female, classical dance and synchronised dancing.

“It could have been better organised. The judgement was flawless though,” said a majority of the students.

The home team said, “Some slips occurred for we were smaller in strength, about 500 students, but we did our best.”

Each day was dedicated to a cause. The students launched an AIDS campaign on World AIDS Day, the inaugural day. December 2 was dedicated to National Pollution Prevention Day.

A thought was given to to the differently-abled on December 3, International Day of Persons with Disabilities and December 4 marked Navy Day.

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi/...es/340184.html

[dhanesh2k]

New canteen at General Hospital

The Ernakulam General Hospital, which already has a sophisticated Dietary Kitchen, will soon have a canteen with all modern facilities. MLA Hibi Eden laid the foundation stone for the canteen on Monday.

The canteen is constructed at an estimated cost of `21 lakh, District Collector P I Sheikh Pareeth said. Of the total cost, `11 lakh comes from the Hibi Eden’s MLA Development Fund and `10 lakh from Ludy Luiz’s MLA Development Fund.

The canteen is expected to be completed in three months. Hospital Superintendent Dr M I Junaid Rahman said that the government had sanctioned `2 crore for the development activities of the hospital and `50 lakh for TB treatment.

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi/...al/340556.html

[dhanesh2k]

Nurses at Amrita on strike

A flash strike by nurses at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences turned violent as the nurses clashed with the police who were called in to control the crowds. Two persons were injured in the melee.

The nurses had gone on strike as leaders of the newly-formed United Nurses' Association said that they were allegedly beaten up by the hospital staff when they reached there for talks with prior appointment. Talks had yet to resolve the issue regarding the dismissal of a nurse and transfer of yet another one, Sudeep Krishnan, state secretary of the Association, told The Hindu .

The hospital authorities declined to comment on the issue. Sources said that a male nurse was suspended after many complaints were received against him. According to sources, 110 female and 90 males nurses had joined the strike.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...cle2693744.ece

[dhanesh2k]

Originally Posted by dhanesh2k

Nurses at Amrita on strike

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...cle2693744.ece

Police lathicharge striking nurses at AIMS

A section of the nursing staff went on a strike at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) on Tuesday.

Tension prevailed on the campus when the police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd which gathered as part of the protest.

The nurses demanded that the management reinstate their colleagues who were terminated. They said that they had formed a unit of the United Nurses Organisation which is active in other districts. The union was formed at AIMS on December 2. They alleged that the management was trying to weaken the union.

“When they terminated the president of the union and transferred its general secretary to Mysore with the intention of splitting the union we took out a protest demanding that the president be reinstated. Since we continued to protest, the management agreed for talks.

They spoke to three members of the state committee of the union on Monday evening and gave them an appointment for talks at 12.30 pm on Tuesday,” said a member of the union.

“But when the state committee members arrived for the talks they were beaten up. Three persons were injured, one of them seriously. So we intensified our strike and more nurses, about 1,000, joined the protest,” he said.

When contacted the hospital sources had a different version. “The management did not get any representation on problems of nurses. Moreover, no notice was served regarding the strike. We got a complaint against a contract staff, whose tenure is nearly over, for immoral behaviour.

Based on the complaint he was suspended. Some nurses staged a protest against the move. When they obstructed the casualty entrance, we called in the police,” said an official with the Public Relations Department. “Only about 190 nurses staged a protest,” he said.

The police said that they resorted to lathicharge to disperse the crowd. A case has been registered as three members of the union were injured. The search for the attackers is on, they said.

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi/...MS/340905.html

[Malayaali]

- Tripunithura

[mohammedirshad06]

Focussing on the affordable healthcare space, Manappuram Group will invest nearly Rs 1,000 crore over the next four to five years, to set up a chain of 50 sophisticated medical, dental and diagnostics clinics across South India.

The company plans to set up a chain of sophisticated diagnostics labs, medical and dental clinics and pharmacy outlets in major cities including metros and mini metros, offering affordable healthcare to people, Mr V.P.Nandakumar, Chairman, Manappuram Group, said at a press meet here on Wednesday to announce the launch of the Diagnostics Centre and International Dental Hospital in Kochi.

The Kochi facility, set up at an investment of Rs 50 crore, will be inaugurated by Prof K.V.Thomas, Union Minister of State for Agriculture, on December 10.

According to Mr Nandakumar, the group entered the healthcare space under the brand name MAcare last year, by setting up first such centre at its headquarters in Valappad. Kochi is the second centre which extends over 17,000 sq ft of fully air-conditioned space and is the largest and most sophisticated facility of its kind in Kerala, he said.

MEDICAL CENTRE

A super speciality medical centre will also come up at the Kochi centre shortly that will offer services of expert doctors in all fields of medicine including Cardiology, Nephrology, Neurology and Gastroenterology units. A highlight of the medical centre will be a Laparoscopic Day surgery centre of international standards, where operations in the abdominal and pelvic cavities can be performed using minimally invasive (keyhole) surgery. To patients, these procedures cause less pain and the recovery is much faster without need of overnight stay at the hospital, he said.

ADVANCED SERVICES OFFERED

Speaking on the occasion, Dr P.D.Prasannan, Managing Director, Manappuram Healthcare Ltd, said among its advanced services, the Kochi centre offers a triple test — Ultrasound scan, Mammogram and Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology — for early detection of breast diseases. The centre also offers fully automated microbiology, biochemistry and pathology labs and digital X-ray.

The dental hospital offers full range of dental specialities from cosmetic dentistry to the latest implant and maxillofacial surgeries.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle2695345.ece

[dhanesh2k]

Nurses' strike at Amrita continues

Talks between the hospital authorities at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and the leaders of the United Nurses' Association failed to resolve the strike by a section of nurses that began on Tuesday at the hospital.

The nurses' organisation, in addition to the demands of salary hike and other benefits, was asking for giving up the legal action against the nurse who was dismissed from service on Tuesday, and that was not acceptable, according to the hospital spokesperson. The strike began on Tuesday afternoon, after the association leaders, who had arrived at the hospital to discuss matters of a dismissal and a transfer of two nurses, were beaten up allegedly by the staff at the hospital.

The representative of the nurses said that the talks were inconclusive as the hospital had not agreed to any of their demands. Association State secretary Sudeep Krishnan said their demands included reinstating two nurses — one who was dismissed and another who was transferred— at the hospital, implementing minimum wages, maintaining nurses-to-patient ratio according to the mandates of the Indian Nursing Council and abolition of bonds in employing nurses.

The hospital authorities, in a statement, said that contrary to the claim by the nurses' association, the functioning of the hospital has not been affected by the strike in which only a section of nurses was involved.

Hundreds of nursing graduates who are Mata Amritanandamayi's devotees, are waiting to serve patients at the hospital, it said.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...cle2697112.ece

[dhanesh2k]

Long wait for 5th floor in Ayurveda Hospital

The executive engineer has submitted a proposal seeking administrative sanction for completion of the fifth floor of the first phase of the new complex of District Ayurveda Hospital in Kacheripady on Wednesday.

“We need at least Rs 1 crore for the fifth floor,” said executive engineer N Robeson.

The new building was opened in June 2010 with two floors. The construction work of two more floors is nearly over. This poses problems for patients and staff. “We have to wait in long queues at the pharmacy counter. Though it has been upgraded into a 50-bedded hospital, only 20 beds are there and facilities are not enough.

It is difficult for the elderly and the ailing to climb the steps. The panchakarma treatments are being done in a makeshift building,” said a few patients from the coastal regions of the district. “The second and third phase have to be completed fast if the hospital has to function properly,” said DMO Dr Amibika whose office is now in Thammanam. “We are coping with what we have. The facilities have to be improved. There are 50 inpatients and around 660 outpatients each day and there is no space for storage and we are short of hands. The work on the two floors (women’s wards) is over but funds are needed to complete the fifth floor (for the aged and children). Unless it is ready by March, it cannot be upgraded to a 100-bedded hospital,” said Dr Rex Nelson, Chief Medical Officer.

“The four staff members provided by the NRHM are of great help,” he said

Construction of ramp, lift and reception area are included in the second phase. X-ray unit, pay wards of different scales and canteen are planned in the third phase.

District panchayat president Eldose Kunnappally said,”We are giving priority to the project. Over `1 crore will be sanctioned soon. Tourism packages can also be incorporated when the pay wards are ready. By next year we will turn this into an ayurveda specialty hospital,” he said. District Collector Sheik Pareeth said he would look into the matter

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi/...al/341156.html

[dhanesh2k]

Corporation has ideas

Day-and-night medical stores are common in Mumbai, Bangalore and in our capital city but there is hardly a single medical outlet that is kept open 24X7 in the commercial capital of the state, putting those in need into dire straits.

Considering the gravity of the situation, the Kochi Corporation will soon hold talks with the office-bearers of All-Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association to see whether it would be possible for the proprietors to keep open one or two shops during the day and night by taking turns.

“At present, there is no law which makes it mandatory for the drug stores to keep the shops open for 24 hours. To our knowledge, an outlet near Goutham Hospital, Panayappilly, is kept open throughout day and night,” said Kochi Corporation Town Planning Standing Committee chairman K J Sohan. He said that all the civic body can do is to urge the medical stores near the hospitals to keep them open during night on rotation basis. “We cannot ask these shops to function 24X7. But, considering the humanitarian angle of the issue, it should be sorted out by the owners of the medical stores themselves,” he said.

Kochi Corporation Health Standing Committee chairman T K Ashraf reiterated the same view.

“It is for a good cause. So definitely we will hold talks with the All-Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association to see whether they can keep open at least one or two medical shops during the night. They have various concerns including staff shortage and security. So they can think of keeping open the shops near hospitals. Usually, the hospitals will be active throughout the day and night and the issues related to security will be less,” he said.

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi/...as/341155.html

[Malayaali]

Originally Posted by mohammedirshad06

Mr V.P.Nandakumar, Chairman, Manappuram Group, to announce the launch of the Diagnostics Centre and International Dental Hospital in Kochi.
The Kochi facility, set up at an investment of Rs 50 crore.

According to Mr Nandakumar, the group entered the healthcare space under the brand name MAcare last year, by setting up first such centre at its headquarters in Valappad. Kochi is the second centre which extends over 17,000 sq ft of fully air-conditioned space and is the largest and most sophisticated facility of its kind in Kerala, he said.

cc: Manorama

[dhanesh2k]

Originally Posted by dhanesh2k

Nurses at Amrita on strike

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...cle2693744.ece

Nurses' strike resolved

The nurses' strike that began on Tuesday at the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) was resolved after talks that went on past Thursday midnight between hospital management and the nurses' association.

P. Rajeev, MP; Hibi Eden, MLA; District Collector P.I. Sheikh Pareed; vice-chairman of the Mata Amritanandamayi Math Swami Amritaswarupananda Puri; CEO of Amrita Television K. Gopalakrishnan; and representatives of the United Nurses' Association participated in the talks.

Mr. Pareed said that the hospital management had agreed to withdraw the cases against the protesting staff, while three months' time has been given to settle the staff demands for better pay.

Also, a decision was taken at the meeting to revoke the transfer of a nurse, which was one of the reasons cited by the protesting staff.

Meanwhile, two persons were arrested on charge of allegedly detaining an agitating male nurse, police said.

The High Court had on Thursday directed the City Police Commissioner to provide protection to the AIMS for its smooth functioning.

The bench comprising Justice Pius C. Kuriakose and Justice K. Harilal issued the direction on a petition filed by the AIMS management.

The strike began at AIMS after a nurse was dismissed and another transferred on certain complaints received by hospital authorities

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper...cle2700339.ece

[Malayaali]

Dhanesh, these news have to go to discussion thread!

[dhanesh2k]

Fire fear in Kochi hospitals

In the wake of the devastating fire at AMRI hospital in South Kolkata where over 70 persons were killed, it is feared that the hospitals in Kochi are more or equally vulnerable to fire as most of them are not equipped to meet the emergency.

The Fire and Rescue officials had recently alerted these hospitals to maintain proper fire precautions but nothing has been done yet.

Sources in the Fire and Rescue Services said the hospitals don’t have any kind of fire and safety requirements. “The Indian Buildings Act and the Kerala Buildings Act clearly state that a building should be constructed only with all kinds of fire and safety precautions. Even if hospitals make any kind of alteration in the construction or make extensions, they should get the permission of the Fire and Safety Department. Though we suggest more fire and safety measures, our words are never taken seriously,” a Fire and Rescue official said.

According to Joe Kuruvilla, senior officer, Fire and Rescue Department, the major problem in Kochi is that most hospitals were built several decades ago without safety steps. “The hospitals here are mostly built several years ago. They are multi-storied buildings and any kind of fire at top floors will be disastrous. A hospital at South has been build in the congested space and in case of a fire, even the fire engines cannot enter the premises of the building,” Joe Kuruvilla said.

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi/...ls/341882.html

[dhanesh2k]

Hybrid surgery proves most effective

When Ramesh Mayaji Patil, a native of Mumbai, consulted his physician after he experienced an unusual chest pain and a change in his voice, he never realised he was suffering form aneurysm. Tests revealed dangerously large swelling of his major blood vessel - aorta. Aneurysm had affected the vessel right from his heart and extended almost into the abdomen. As a consequence his windpipe was being compressed and food pipe too.

The doctors told him that the condition required a long and complicated surgical procedure - hybrid aortic surgery. As he did not know where such surgeries were being performed, his son Dr Swapinil, a radiologist, had learnt from his colleagues that such surgeries were being done at Medical Trust Hospital in Kochi.

Hybrid procedures incorporating surgery with stenting has become an innovative method of treating the dreaded diseases of aortic aneurysm. This approach reduces the complication rates and time of recovery.

He contacted chief cardiac surgeon of the hospital, Dr John E V. Ramesh was flown in to Kochi.

After a thorough work up by the team of doctors it became clear that he would require a two-stage operation. The doctors lead by Dr John E V performed the eight-hour surgery to replace the valve and two major portions of aorta known as root and arch. The procedure requires the patient to be cooled to 18 degree celsius to protect his brain and the circulation to be arrested completely. During an hour of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest, something like suspended animation, the major part of the surgery was completed and patient slowly came back to ‘life’. After four days the doctors performed a key hole ‘endovascular stent’ to cover the lower part of the aneurysm. Ramesh has been discharged after a two-week-long recovery.

The team comprised of Dr Satish, cardiac anesthetist, Dr Pradep Naick, Dr Arunna Sairam, cardiologists Dr Sajy Kuruttukulam and Dr Harsha Jeevan and radiologist Dr Rahul Seth.

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi/...ve/341872.html

[mohammedirshad06]

Union Minister KV Thomas today inaugurated Manappuram Group’s diagnostics and dental care centre in Kochi. Branded as MAcare, this 17,000 sq ft integrated facility is the largest diagnostics centre in Kerala.

The International Dental Hospital was inaugurated by Hibi Eden, Member of Kerala Legislative Assembly. The Pharmacy Division was inaugurated by Sebastian Paul, former MP.

Presiding over the occasion was Tony Chammany, Mayor of Kochi Corporation. The Welcome Speech was by Manappuram Group Executive Chairman, VP Nandakumar.

MAcare is a proposed 50-centre diagnostics chain promoted by Manappuram Group with an investment of Rs. 1000 crore. The highlight of the Kochi centre is its industry leading size, an exclusive Day Surgery Centre, and the latest diagnostics equipments.

Manappuram has also launched a retail jewellery chain, branded as Riti Jewelry, for which it is tying up Rs. 100 crore in PE funds shortly. According to Nandakumar, the Group is in talks with a few PE funds with which it already has associations for its listed and flagship company, Manappuram Finance Ltd

[dhanesh2k]

‘Country lacks advanced diagnostic system’

Diagnosis is an area in our health care system that needs a lot of advancement. Even reputed hospitals and doctors fail to diagnose a number of diseases, said K V Thomas, Union Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs. He was speaking at the inauguration of the MAcare’s Kaloor centre. Even today, we are forced to send blood samples to London in order to detect certain diseases, he said. The minister said health tourism industry is fast looking at Kerala as a destination not only for ayurvedic treatment but also for modern medicine. Speaking at the function MLA Hibi Eden said ”in spite of the State’s progress in the health sector, the costs for treatment are on the rise making it unaffordable for large sections of the population.”

Dr Praveen Lal who spoke on the occasion said that there was a gradual change in the attitude of authorities towards health care. “Earlier it was about detecting the maximum number of patients and giving them some sort of treatment to check the spread of diseases and epidemics.

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi/...99/342244.html

[Arunz]

KOCHI:� In the wake of the devastating fire at AMRI hospital in South� Kolkata where over 70 persons were killed, it is feared that the hospitals� in Kochi are more or equally vulnerable to fire as most of them are not equipped to meet the emergency.
The Fire and Rescue officials had recently alerted these hospitals to� maintain proper fire precautions but nothing has been done yet.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/fire-fear...95-60-122.html

[dhanesh2k]

God save our hospitals from fire!

In a shocking revelation, Kochi’s Town Planning officials have said that the majority of the multispeciality hospitals in the city are ill-equipped to deal with an emergency situation.

“All high rises in the city should be constructed according to the norms laid out by the Fire and Rescue Department. The Corporation will give permit to the building only after the Fire and Rescue Department gives it a No-objection certificate,” said K J Sohan, chairperson, Town Planning Committee, Kochi Corporation.

“As a minimum requirement, the hospitals should at least have a rescue-friendly location and design. Even that is lacking in our city hospitals,” he added.

K Ramanan, Senior Town Planner, Kochi, says the issue arises as the hospitals fail to follow the safety norms set by the competent authority.

“During construction, the healthcare institutions focus on getting the NOC from the Fire and Rescue Department and the permission of the Corporation. Hence, they follow all the norms. After construction, the norms defined in the permit are thrown to the wind. This is mostly seen at the time of extensions. For example, it is mandatory that an open space at least 5 metres wide be left around every building. But, this is seldom adhered to. The hospitals either persuade authorities to relax the norms or do it on their own without consulting the authorities concerned,” said Ramanan.

“Most of the time, the hospital’s location makes it impossible for a Fire and Rescue vehicle to go near them. The lack of parking and open spaces makes things worse. The congestion also increases the risk of the fire spreading onto the nearby buildings.

For example, a renowned multi-speciality hospital in the heart of the city is situated in such a way that an emergency situation in the hospital will immediately affect the entire area since it is situated barely metres away from an arterial road. In such a condition, even trained rescue personnel cannot help people as the area of impact will be very large,” he added.

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/kochi/god-save-our-hospitals-from-fire!/342752.html