CHENNAI: After receiving tremendous response from the public in the last three months of its inauguration, the Tamil Nadu Government Multi-Super Specialty Hospital is upgrading its facilities by setting up a building for radiation oncology soon.
Hospital sources said they had received approval from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), which is required to set up the building and install a hi-end linear accelerator for radiation therapy. The State Government had sanctioned `5.3 crore for the radiation oncology building that will be constructed separately from the main hospital in adherence to the stringent norms of AERB.
The hospital is waiting for AERB’s approval to set up a nuclear oncology centre and install SPECT and PET/CT imaging — techniques that provide information to carry out accurate diagnosis. If approved, sources said, the hospital would be the first State-run centre to house the facility in South India.
Over the three months, the number of outpatients and inpatients had increased at the hospital. The hospital, which started off with 30 or 40 outpatients, now treats over 300 of them a day and has about 200 inpatients at any given time.
“There is a gradual but steady increase in the number of patients coming to the hospital. More than referral cases, people come on their own after learning about the facilities through the media. It shows that they are aware about the advanced facilities provided here,” an official said.
The hospital has generated `1.17 crore of Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Fund within three months by performing complex surgeries, with cardiology and vascular departments topping the list.
“We perform neurovascular procedures that are otherwise quite expensive and could cost over `7 lakh,” the official added.