KOCHI: ‘Sahasra Hrudayam’, a project aimed at providing financial support to economically-weak patients in the state for cardiac surgeries was launched by Rajagiri Hospital on Wednesday.
Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac inaugurated the project at Rajagiri Hospital in Chunangamvely, Aluva and stressed the need to create more public awareness to identify lifestyle diseases and cardiac ailments so that people were able to consult doctors for early diagnosis, helping in substantial reduction of treatment costs.
“Our health sector is not sufficiently equipped to deal with lifestyle diseases. The government has plans to evolve a `5,000-crore project in with participation of public and private healthcare sectors and hospitals to contain lifestyle diseases in the state,’ Isaac said.“A healthy medical sector effectively prevents situations where a patient’s finances stand in the way of advanced treatment. Projects like 'Sahasra Hrudayam' can bring fundamental changes in treating heart attack and heart failure and are the need of the hour,” he said.
“'With the launch of 'Sahasra Hrudayam', the effort is towards ensuring everyone access to cardiac care facilities. It aims to touch the hearts of 1,000 marginalised cardiac patients in five years by offering cardiac surgeries at highly subsidised rates,” said Fr Johnson Vazhappilly, CMI, executive director and CEO of Rajagiri Hospital.