Nursing Centres of Excellence proposed

Pondicherry, Aug 13: The Centre has proposed to set up Nursing Centres of Excellence in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkota at a cost of Rs 25 to 50 crore, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Anbumani Ramadoss said.

Inaugurating the College of Nursing, MRI Scan, Multislice Spiral C T Scan and Cardiac Cath Lab at the Jipmer Hospital here yesterday Dr Ramadoss said this woud help nurses to get training in all departments.

Claiming that the Indian nurses were the best, he said many of them were working in research institutions in America.

To give due recognition to the otherwise unrecognised nurses, the Centre had instituted the 'Florence Nightingale' award which was presented to the best nurse from the states every year by the President, he said.

He said Jipmer would be provided with all facilities in another three years to ensure that no patient would be referred to another hospital for treatment.

To this end, he said as many as 243 appointments including that of two neurosurgeons were made and a super speciality block, at a cost of Rs 183 crore, was under construction.

Stating that ten medical colleges were more than enough for the Union Territory, Dr Ramadoss exhorted Chief Minister N Rangasamy to start nursing colleges in the public sector.

Speaking on the occasion, Pondicherry Lt Governor Mukut Mithi said India exported the largest number of nurses to the United States and added that nurses from India were well recognised there. The dignitary asserted that efforts should be made to ensure quality, accountability, and efficiency in the health sector both in public and private sectors. No case of polio has been reported here for the last six years, he said.

Speaking at the function, Pondicherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy said the administration would start MSc Nursing and M Pharma courses at the government-run Mother Theresa Institute of Health Sciences here.

There are seven private medical colleges in Pondicherry besides Jipmer and with the government medical college coming up next year, the total number would rise to nine, he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Lok Sabha member Prof Ramadass urged Mr Anbumani to set up a wing of Jipmer at Karaikal to give more attention to the region. Infant mortality rate was considerably low in Pondicherry, he said.

UNI