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HEALTH>Kasturba
Hospital
"The needs of the community
are met through the services of this hospital" - Dr. Kausalya, Managing
Trustee
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Adoption Centre at the Hospital
Outpatients Ward
New-born with Mother at the Hospital
The Geriatric Centre at the Hospital
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Highlights 2006
- 375 people screened with ECG for preventive care
- 20 cardiac patients evaluated, expert opinion & management
sought
- Successful open heart surgery on Ms. Vijaylakshmi, a CHD patient
from Children's Home in Bangalore with continued care through the
telemedicine centre
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Top
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The
Gandhigram Kasturba Hospital was created in response to the needs of the
community.
Dr. Soundaram started a maternity centre at Chinnalapatti, in a large house
donated by the benevolent friend of Gandhigram Dr. L.K. B. Laghumiah in
1947. It was a maternity centre with doctor and nurses. Community health
care was started in a few villages around with trained Arogya Sevikas. |
Kasturba Hospital Entrance |
Health care activities
like check-up of pregnant mothers, imunisation for children, family Planning
advise, temporary methods of contraception were all addressed long before
the government started them as a programme.
Later with funds generated by Dr. Soundram, the current hospital was constructed
and the hospital shifted to its current location in 1962. 'Amma' (the
Mother) was the pet name given by the villagers to Dr. Soundram as they
found in her not merely a doctor but the care of a mother, this care for
the patients has brought patients even from far off to this hospital for
treatment.
The community in a number of villages were taking interest and participating
in these health initiatives. Also village bodies discussions through Mahila
mandals were organised. Dr. Soundaram felt that the village community
should be provided with KAP - give them the Knowledge, create Awareness
and when they demand Provide service either a their doorstep or at the
hospital. Loop insertion camps, family planning surgery camps and above
all follow-up of all this activities. Hospital services were strengthened
to provide service all 24 hours a day. Maternal and child health was the
top priority. As per the demands of the community services were provided
in family planning and medical termination of pregnancy as a result of
which complications of septic abortion were reduced and stopped in the
area. Subsequently, demand from the community encouraged the hospital
to specialise in Recanalisation surgery. Then the community felt the need
for treatment for couple with no children. Kasturba hospital started concentrating
on this aspect by starting with education, simple investigation and treatment
both with allopathy and Indian system of medicine for Infertility.
Currently, the hospital houses 275 beds of which 100 are reserved for
family planning surgery. The hospital provides free services for poor
patients and excellent maternity services. The hospital is staffed by
119 permanent employees. The hospital gives utmost care to newborn and
takes all effort to reduce the neo-natal mortality rate - which is rather
high in rural India. In the year 2003, 3,494 babies were delivered here
with a neo-natal mortality at 1%. The hospital provides 24 hour service
with special care for women and children.
This hospital is a government recognised family welfare centre and a large
number of mothers come to this hospital for their sterilisation operation.
About 2500 medical termination of pregnancies are done every year. Recanalisation
surgery and sterility investigation form part of the family welfare service
provided by the hospital.
This hospital has won National award twice and the state award fourteen
times for the god work done in the field of family welfare. Prevention
of Parent to Child Transmission (PPTCT) programme is implemented in this
hospital according to the action plan of Tamilnadu State AIDS Control
Society (TANSACS). Apart from the allopathic form of treatment, this hospital
also utilises the Indian system of medicine using Siddha and Ayurveda
sciences for treatment.
This hospital trains Clinical Assistants (female), multi-purpose health
workers (female), arogya sevikas, female nursing assistants, lab technicians
(female) and also organises short time training to students from other
institutions.
The hospital also manages 3 Crèches in villages around Gandhigram,
viz. Kachchakatti, Katunayakanpatti and Vellayanpatti. Referral services
are available to six Government Primary Health Centres. This hospital
renders Community Health Services to nearby villages. Dr. Soundram hospital
at Gandhipalayam is also managed by the Hospital.
Adoption centre at the Hospital
Adoption is a sensitive process, both emotionally, legally and operationally.
The Hospital has taken up facilitation of adoption through a functioning
foster care centre for children either abandoned or given away by parents.
Such children, mostly from the neighbouring districts find parents willing
to adopt from the districts of Dindigul, Madura and Theni. An adoption
centre has been functioning at the Kasturba Hospital since 1999 with an
in-country licence by the government. The adoption centre has to monitor
the children even after the process of legalisation, which KH does for
5 years in a periodic manner. So far, adoption of about 80 children has
been facilitated by the centre with the entire process, including legalisation
, being handled by a trained social worker. The social worker also doubles
up in providing counselling for patients in the hospital.
Telemedicine - Providing urban facilities for rural communities
Telemedicine, a recent advancement in the medical field is now an integral
part of the health services of Gandhigram. Through this the Trust provides
the much needed immediate maternal and child health care services to the
rural communities. The telemedicine centre was inaugurated in June 2006;
it is connected to the reputed 'Narayan Hridalaya', a multi-speciality
hospital and cardiology centre in Bangalore. It has recently also tied
up with the Adyar Cancer Institute, Chennai for providing these services.
Reputed doctors from these centres are at the service of the poor and
needy from these communities. After the advent of this, five children
were diagnosed with congenital heart diseases and are undergoing treatment.
Angiography facility is also being planned.
The telemedicine initiative has been made possible by Ms. Hemalatha Murugesan,
an engineer from Bangalore who came forward to support the unit in memory
of her father, who died for want of immediate cardiac care while travelling
to his home town.
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