Latest news with #DistrictEarlyInterventionCentre
New Indian Express
10-08-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Nellai facility leading the way in early intervention for kids
TIRUNELVELI: Doctors working at the District Early Intervention Centre (DEIC) functioning at Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TvMCH) have urged parents of children with congenital defects and developmental disorders to bring them for free treatment available under the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. Dr Subbiah Sriram, nodal officer and paediatrician of DEIC, said that the centre provides specialised treatment to children from birth to 18 years of age. 'Our team identifies congenital defects immediately after birth, including congenital heart disease, congenital cataract, congenital deafness, neural tube defects, retinopathy of prematurity, club foot, and cleft lip and palate and these children will receive immediate surgical or medical intervention at our facility, with expert support from private hospitals for complex surgeries,' he said. He added that during 2023 and 2024, the DEIC handled 262 surgical interventions, including 115 congenital heart defects and other procedures such as cochlear implants for congenital deafness, eye surgeries, and tonsillectomies. The Centre is also equipped to treat malnutrition, anemia, and vitamin deficiency, and offers physiotherapy for children with cerebral palsy.
The Hindu
30-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Karnataka approves cleft care mentorship programme in State-run hospitals
To enhance the capacity of State-run hospitals to perform cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries, the government of Karnataka has approved a 'Cleft care mentorship programme'. Cleft lip and cleft palate are among the most common congenital anomalies affecting children in Karnataka. Surgical correction is essential for the physical, psychological, and social rehabilitation of affected individuals. However, there exists a gap in the availability of adequately trained maxillofacial surgeons in government hospitals, particularly in rural and underserved regions. At present, most of the cleft lip and cleft palate cases identified by the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) team or District Early Intervention Centre (DEIC) are referred to empanelled private health facilities and NGOs for corrective surgery. Besides, only around 20 procedures have been conducted under the Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka (AB-ArK) scheme over the last five years by one government medical college, four private medical colleges and two private hospitals. According to a government order issued on July 28, a gap analysis of government hospitals will be done by Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST), the nodal agency implementing the State's health schemes, to identify and provide the required infrastructure. equipment or HR for conducting cleft lip and cleft palate corrective surgeries. 'A pool of mentor surgeons should be prepared, based on qualifying criteria, as decided by a committee of technical experts. A probable list of maxillofacial surgeons working in the Health and Medical Education departments should be prepared. Children who require corrective surgery should be identified by RBSK teams and allocated to private hospitals, NGOs and government hospitals for surgery. The mentor surgeons should conduct the surgery at government hospitals, and also train other surgeons,' the GO states.
