The Urban Primary Health Centre of Thideer Nagar in Madurai is a rare sight as it teems with patients day in and out. On average, around 200 patients visit the centre in a day. With the support of no more than one doctor and four nurses, this UPHC sometimes stays open past 12 pm on account of the high number of outpatients.
Adding a feather to their cap, the health centre bagged the third position in the last year's assessment of UPHCs providing the best care for antenatal patients, Dr J Christopher, Medical Officer (MO) of the health centre said their conscious risks taken while handling high-risk mothers during labour helped them achieve this milestone. Out of the 31 UPHCs functioning under the Madurai corporation, Thideer Nagar UPHC recorded a high number of successful childbirths last year, he added.
"Over the past year, around 1,040 babies were born in UPHCs across the district, of which, 226 infants (18%) were born at Thideer Nagar UPHC. In order to sustain our performance, we require more manpower and additional infrastructure," says Dr Christopher.
The nurses of Thideer Nagar UPHC are enthralled as they speak about the recent achievement. "We never expected such a high number of deliveries at our UPHC and I'm sure we wouldn't have assisted so many deliveries if it were not for the constant support of the Medical Officer," says S Muthu Pechu, the senior nurse at the health centre, who assisted nearly 150 childbirths over the past one year.
An in-patient mom to a newborn baby girl recalls her childbirth experience at the UPHC. "The nurses at the UPHC frequently kept in touch with me pre and post-delivery. I used to call the nurse at the UPHC, sometimes late at night, just to clarify my doubts and she would respond to me patiently," she says.
Reiterating the number of high-risk mothers they have treated at the UPHC, Dr Christopher says the nurses here have become well-trained to handle them in the right manner. "One of the prominent reasons why we have been getting more patients in comparison to other UPHCs in the district is the good rapport that we maintain with the public," he says.
City Health Officer of Madurai Corporation Dr S Vinoth Kumar is in praise of the UPHC and the MO, whose sincerity and commitment, he says, are the reason behind the flux of patients arriving here.
Speaking to TNIE, R Raja (34), a resident of Katrapalayam, who brought his child to the facility with a fever, says how the staff at the health centre offered extra care and support to her wife during childbirth, who had thyroid and other complications.
A sneak peeks into the statistics of Thideer Nagar UPHC reveals how the place has transformed itself into more than just a health centre that functions by the usual norms. In 2021, the UPHC secured the eighth position for assisting the highest number of childbirths in the state, for which it won the union government's Kayakalp award 2020-2021. Last year, it came third under the criteria of delivering more babies, offering vaccination for children and screening non-communicable diseases.
With the National Health Mission having allotted around `40 lakh under the union government, the Thideer Nagar UPHC now awaits the construction of a new building near the existing one, which is set to begin in a couple of months.
The UPHC, originally established as a dispensary centre in Madurai in 1952, was later extended in 1966 with an additional building for a Tuberculosis Centre but functioned as a Malaria training centre and family planning theatre. In the 2015 Urban Health Posting, the facility was converted into a UPHC. In 2018, the health centre offered assistance in delivery.
Within just a year, they had crossed 100 childbirths. Though they saw a slight dip in the numbers during the Covid-19 pandemic between 2019 and 2021, it took them no time to bounce back to their reputation.