Health Minister Ma. Subramanian (second left) visiting the newly-expanded 24-hour emergency department at GKNM Hospital in Coimbatore on Friday. | Photo Credit: M. PERIASAMY

GKNM Hospital in Coimbatore opens advanced emergency complex, high dependency unit

by · The Hindu

Health Minister Ma. Subramanian inaugurated an advanced emergency complex and high dependency unit at G. Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial (GKNM) Hospital here on Friday.

Launching the facility, Mr. Subramanian said hospitals in the private sector played a key role in the success of the ‘Innuyir Kappom - Nammai Kaakkum 48 scheme’, which has benefitted 2.93 lakh people so far since its launch in December 2021. The government has spent ₹255.84 crore for the scheme.

The amount being paid by the State government for the treatment of road accident victims under the scheme for the first 48 hours in any of the 692 empanelled hospitals is ₹1 lakh. “The government will increase the amount to ₹2 lakh soon,” he said.

The 692 empanelled hospitals, including 237 government hospitals and 455 private hospitals, are situated around 500 accident hotspots.

The Minister said a total of 1.47 crore people are benefited by the Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Medical Insurance Scheme. From the basic coverage of ₹5 lakh per year for family, the government spends upto ₹23 lakh for procedures like organ transplantations. Out of the 1,845 empanelled hospitals, 855 are government hospitals and 990 are private hospitals. “We urge more private hospitals to sign memorandums of understanding with the government to expand the scheme and offer advanced care to the needy,” said the Minister.

A total of 1.95 crore people have been benefited by the Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam scheme, the Minister added.

The newly-expanded 24-hour emergency department at GKNM Hospital is equipped with advanced stroke care and round-the-clock emergency cardiac care. The emergency care complex has 19 beds for adults and children. There are 17 beds for patients requiring intensive care in the high dependency unit inside the emergency complex.

Collector Kranthi Kumar Pati, Corporation Commissioner M. Sivaguru Prabakaran, Kuppuswamy Naidu Charity Trust vice-president R. Gopinath, and GKNM Hospital chief executive officer Ragupathy Veluswamy were present.

Published - October 04, 2024 07:39 pm IST