Chennai: Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami launched a newborn screening facility on the occasion of Children's day at the Institute of Child Health and Hospital for Children Egmore on Wednesday.
As part of the newborn screening initiative, around 500 newborn screening tests can be performed at the lab in a day. Around 77,000 newborns were screened in Vellore district in the first year as a pilot study for this program and the number of newborns to be screened at the lab will be increased as per government instructions.
The lab will initially screen babies for Congenital Hypothyroidism and Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, doctors at the hospital said.
Speaking during the occasion Dr GSK. Velu, Chairman, Neuberg Diagnostics Pvt. Ltd, with whose partnership this lab was set up, said, This screening test identifies a number of inborn errors of metabolism that babies can be born with and that can be completely cured if diagnosed in a week and treated.”
The CM also made a surprise visit to the Amma Canteen within the ICH and ate the food there, along with other patients and visitors.
"This hospital has international standard qualities. Everything that the Health minister saw on his travels to foreign countries' medical facilities has been brought to Tamil Nadu," the minister said, speaking at the event.
