In a first, ED Hospital to get exclusive fever centre

In a first of its kind in the state, an exclusive fever centre to handle cases such as dengue, malaria, chikungunya will come up at Epidemic Diseases (ED) Hospital, on KRS Road, soon.

The Department of Health and Family Welfare has taken up an initiative to set up the centre with an aim to handle fever cases. Facilities such as blood tests and detailed investigation pertaining to fever will be done at the centre.

Three doctors and three technicians will be deputed at the centre and the service will be made available round-the-clock, said District Surgeon Dr M Pashupathi. In fact, ED Hospital is already managing a similar centre with a small lab which can handle only a limited cases, he said. The centre would start functioning by the second week of July, the doctor said.

Now, the patients are dependent on private diagnostic centres. The new fever centre will be a boon for the poor and economically weaker sections. “We can begin treatment immediately after getting the detailed report and there will be no need for the patients to wait for days to get the report,” he said.

At present, the blood test for dengue is being conducted only at a lab located on the premises of District Health and Family Welfare department, in Nazarbad. With the rise in different types of fevers reported in the city, especially during the monsoon, the new centre at ED hospital will be of much use, he opined.

District hospital

The 250-bed District Hospital, which is under construction, is also coming up on the premises of Epidemic Diseases Hospital. The district hospital was one of the long-pending demands of the Health department. The hospital, which will come up on 13.11 acres, will have almost all facilities and specialists like paediatricians, orthopedics, gynecologists, to name a few.

The new hospital will ease the load on KR Hospital and Cheluvamba Hospital, which have been catering to the medical need of the people of the district and also neighbouring districts.