TN has hiked budget for health: Minister

Chennai, Aug 21: The Tamil Nadu Government made an additional budgetary allocation of Rs 300 crore for the current year for health and family welfare programmes in the state, Health Minister K K S S R Ramachandran has said.

Presenting the DRC Gold Medal Oration Award 2006 to Prof David Richard Matthews of the Oxford University at a function organised by the city-based M V Hospital for Diabetes and Diabetes Research Centre (DRC) here last night, Mr Ramachandran said the government had ordered the establishment of a separate department for diabetes at Government Stanley Medical College Hospital here after it realised the seriousness of the disease.

Efforts would be made to upgrade and develop government hospitals on par with the private hospitals, he said.

The Minister also presented Prof M Viswanathan Gold Medal Oration Award to Dr M K Mani, Chief Nephrologist and Head of Nephrology Department, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai. He said the government would extend all possible help to diabetes prevention and research programmes.

He wanted doctors to play an important role in creating awareness about the prevention of diabetes as the present lifestyle would lead to the early onset of the disease.

Such initiatives were required as the patients did not pay adequate attention to prevention.

Prof A Rajasekaran, President of the National Board of Examinations, said the board was seriously considering the introduction of post-doctoral fellowship in diabetes.

Since diabetes was emerging as a common disease, the MBBS curriculum needed reorientation with emphasis on treatment of the disease. The post-graduate medical curriculum should also have a special focus on diabetes.

In his address, Prof David Richard Matthews, who is also the Chairman Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism said lack of exercise, use of tobacco and poor diet were among the reasons for diabetes.

But the major cause was obesity which was as a result of an imbalance between consumption and expenditure of food by the body.

Since obesity was becoming pandemic, it was the high time for the governments to take a serious view on food advertisements.

Speaking on problem of chronic kidney disease in India and its prevention, Dr Mani said though the country provided the best facilities and treatment to the needy, the problem for the patients was cost.

Dr Mani wanted more campaigns to create awareness on the seriousness of kidney diseases.

UNI