Collector Launches Heart Screening Scheme
Collector V. Palanikumar (left) talking to children at a screening camp at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital on Tuesday to identify beneficiaries for free heart surgeries under a scheme launched on Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s birthday. Twenty children aged under 12 underwent a screening for heart diseases at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital on Tuesday under a scheme launched across the State to mark the birthday of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi. District Collector V. Palanikumar launched the scheme for Coimbatore region. He said children would be screened till June 30 under the programme. The Government had allocated Rs.20 lakh for the scheme in the district. If children were found to have congenital defects in the heart, they could undergo surgeries funded by the Government at four private hospitals in the city.
The CMCH has already tied up with three private hospitals in the city to provide a similar service to children from poor families. Under the ongoing programme, children found suffering from heart defects such as a hole in the upper chamber (atrial septal defect) or the lower chamber (ventricular septal defect) are referred to the private hospitals for surgery. The Government pays the hospitalisation and surgery costs to the private hospitals after the operation is done and the patients reviewed by the nodal officer of the scheme at the CMCH.
