Educate people on dangers of lifestyle diseases, says M Venkaiah Naidu
CHENNAI: Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu called upon doctors in both public and private sectors to visit the nearest schools in their localities and conduct awareness campaigns on the need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. He underscored the need to establish NCD clinics in both urban and rural areas and said the private sector must play a prominent role in setting up such clinics.
The private sector should complement the efforts of the government in reaching modern healthcare facilities to the rural areas, he said. “Public private partnership could be the model to bridge the gap in providing technically advanced primary and secondary healthcare centres,” he said inaugurating MGM Healthcare here on Sunday. Emphasising the need to establish NCD clinics in both urban and rural areas, he said the private sector must play a prominent role in setting up such clinics.
“A national movement against the growing incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCD) needs to be launched…. The Indian Medical Association must take the lead to promote awareness among the people, particularly school and college students, on the health hazards caused by sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy dietary habits,” he said.
Though great strides have been made in reducing infant and maternal mortality over the last five decades and in controlling the spread of diseases like HIV and TB, there is need to make concerted action to stop the growing incidence of non-communicable diseases, he added.
India has achieved significant progress in healthcare sector and has successfully contained many infectious diseases. And Tamil Nadu's average in health sector is above the national average, the Vice President said.
Governor Banwarilal Purohit emphasised on the country's glorious past in medical education and medical sciences. "Sushruta, Jivaka Kumarabhacca, and Charaka were famous medical experts who showed the world how to treat diseases and illnesses. At a time when surgeries in England were done primitively, the most complex surgeries were being performed in India by well trained surgeons," he said.
Claiming that the MGM Healthcare is Chennai's first fully digital hospital and one of the most technologically advanced hospitals in the country, M. K. Rajagopalan, managing director of MGM Healthcare said, "one of our salient features is our digital ICU which uses IoT enabled charting solutions and predictive analysis. We are delighted to bring such state-of-the-art systems to Chennai."
Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, Health Minister Dr. C. Vijayabaskar, Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar, Dr. Prashanth Rajagopalan, Director and Rahul R. Menon, CEO of MGM Healthcare participated.
