Madras Medical College to soon have neurology dept, says Minister

The Madras Medical College will soon have a Neurology Department and state-of-the-art machines and equipment to treat heart and kidney patients, said Health Minister Ma Subramanian. He was talking at the convocation ceremony at the college on Thursday.

The Neurology Department would be set up at a cost of Rs 65 crore, said the Minister, adding that equipment that would help improve treatment efficiency was being procured for Rs 15 crore while Rs 4 crore would be spent to buy machines to treat heart patients.

Awarding convocation certificate to 250 students at 186th convocation ceremony, Minister Subramanian said Madras Medical College was one of the top institutions across the world. Commenting on medical education facilities in the State, he pointed out that 36 of the 300-odd government medical colleges and 34 of the 276 private medical colleges in the country were situated in Tamil Nadu.

Following the case of food poisoning of a boy in Arani, the Health Minister said the Food Safety Department was inspecting eateries across the State and was taking action against those found selling poor quality food.

Talking about the rising cases of COVID at educational institutions, he said VIT, Anna University, Sathya Sai Medical College and other institutions opened last month for exams and classes. According to him, the students returning to the institutions from other states are likely to have got the infection before coming to Tamil Nadu. All students who were tested positive for the pandemic were treated as per protocol and their parents were informed on their health status, he said. He also stressed on the need to follow safety protocols to ensure that the pandemic was under control, especially considering how many other states like Maharashtra and neighbouring Kerala are reporting a surge in cases.