Madurai will turn into medical hub: Health secretary

MADURAI: The city will soon become a medical hub with several new medical facilities coming up, said state health secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan. He was speaking after inaugurating the 5th edition of MEDex 2018, a medical exhibition and conference organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to bridge hospitals and suppliers of medical equipment and drugs here on Saturday.

Radhakrishnan said that while many facilities like super-speciality hospital at Rs 135 crore and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) – funded modern operation theatre complex at Rs 375 crore are coming up in Madurai, AIIMS would be like icing on the cake.

He said that Tamil Nadu’s healthcare is able to retain its top position in the ranking for states, because of the ability to cure many types of diseases at lower cost. Facilities in government hospitals are also being improved. While 23 MRI scans are already available, 13 more are going to be installed. Similarly, 17 CT scan equipment would be added to the existing 73. Fifteen new Cobalt therapy equipment to treat cancer and 11 new cath labs are also coming up, he said.

Collector S Natarajan said the district administration is engaged in creating awareness in various fronts like dengue prevention, creating a plastic-free Madurai, rejuvenating water bodies and creating more green areas. He sought private healthcare providers’ help in sharing information and providing healthcare at affordable rates.

Chairman, CII Tamil Nadu M Ponnuswami touched upon CII’s role in promoting sustainable and inclusive healthcare growth in the state. He said that CII will work for creating a conducive policy environment for healthcare in the state. He said that reputed healthcare providers in the state have come together under the umbrella of - Tamil Nadu Medical Value Travel Consortium, facilitated by the CII. The objective of the consortium is to engage with state governments such as Assam, West Bengal and countries like Bangladesh, Sudan, Tanzania, Kenya, through their embassies in India to forge a partnership, which will provide quality and affordable healthcare services.