Ma Su inaugurates brachytherapy equipment at Omandurar hospital

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian inaugurated the brachytherapy equipment at Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super-Speciality Hospital in Omandurar on Saturday.

He said that every year 3,000 cancer patients are treated in this hospital and around 100 cancer patients are treated with Linear Accelerator everyday. Cancer treatment mainly brachy therapy machine is used for cervical cancer treatment. It was purchased from Germany at a cost of Rs 2 crore and is being dedicated for public use at the hospital.

"In this treatment, only the cancerous tissues are completely destroyed without affecting the organs near the tumor. This treatment is completed in a very short time (10 minutes). The treatment is very effective for advanced stages of cervical cancer where surgery is not possible. The radioactive material used in this machine is cobalt. Other radioactive material for three months is changed once. As cobalt has a half-life of 5 years, the cost also comes down as replacement of radioactive material is required only after 7-8 years," he said.

In this treatment, the patient should undergo 3 procedures and the cost to the government for the same is Rs 24,000, but this amount is provided under the Chief Minister's Medical Insurance Scheme. The same treatment costs Rs 30,000 to Rs 90,000 in a private hospital, he added.

Various medical equipments have been provided to the hospital under CSR Fund of Rs.18.5 crore by Airports Authority of India. He said that since 2012, 9,58,921 beneficiaries have received various treatments for cancer and an insurance amount of Rs 941.11 crore has been spent under CMCHIS.

மாண்புமிகு தமிழக முதல்வர் அவர்களின் வழிகாட்டுதலின்படி இன்று சென்னை ஓமந்தூரார் அரசு பன்னோக்கு உயர் சிறப்பு மருத்துவமனையில் அண்மை கதிர்வீச்சு கருவி ( BRACHYTHERAPY) திறந்து வைக்கப்பட்டது. @mkstalin #Masubramanian #TNHealthminister pic.twitter.com/gc6D5Dasod

— Subramanian.Ma (@Subramanian_ma) September 3, 2022

He said that the new facilities at the hospital help in the benefit of the patient and after the inaugural of robotic surgery facility at the hospital, 56 people have been benefitted from the same. The bed capacity of the intensive care unit at the hospital has been increased from 35 to 106 and ventilator capacity has been increased from 35 to 86, apart from five new scan equipments installed at the hospital.

Health minister said that dialysis machines have been increased from 20 to 40 and are working 2 to 3 shifts. The number of ex-ray services has increased from 1,600 to 2,300 in the last one year. The hospital also conducted 10 heart transplants so far. Meanwhile, the Department of Arthroscopy has been upgraded as a Sports Medicine Training Centre.

Higher education courses have been developed in Radiology, Neurology, Cardiology, Vascular etc. DNB (Radiation Oncology) Department of Radiology have been started. The number of beneficiaries under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Medical Insurance Scheme at the hospital stands second after the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.