After years of using morphine and other pain medication as a last minute pain relaxant, the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital has now opened a professional centre for chronic pain management — one of the firsts for a public sector hospital. The pain management centre, opened at a cost of `50 lakh will provide pain medication for cancer patients as well as for end-stage trauma patients.
“Most of the trauma patients get pain management but that is because they are terminal. But now we will be able to help even patients who have orthopaedic pain and other kinds of minor bodily pains will have access to pain meds,” said Dr V Kanagasabai, Dean of MMC and RGGGH. The pain management centre was inaugurated by Health Minister K C Veeramani at the hospital on Friday.
The money for the centre was generated from profits that came from the CM’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. This will be a massive boon for cancer patients as well, as morphine and other palliative care medicine is extremely expensive. The centre will function from Ward No 220 at GH, from 9 am - 1 pm.