Latest news with #S.Kumaravel

The Hindu
12 hours ago
- Health
- The Hindu
College students take out a rally against substance abuse
Over 300 students and faculty of colleges in the city participated in a special programme to observe International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking organised by the Department of Psychiatry, K.A.P.V. Government Medical College in association with the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital, on Thursday. The activities included a rally from the Collector's office to the medical college auditorium, and awareness lectures for students, centred on this year's theme 'Breaking the Chains! Prevention, Treatment and Recovery for All'. Tiruchi District Collector V. Saravanan administered an oath against the use of narcotics and other addictive substances to the gathering and flagged off the rally. S. Kumaravel, Dean, K.A.P.V. Government Medical College, likened addiction to a whirlpool that could pull people in without their knowledge. 'We have to learn to say 'no' to drugs. The brain is the main generator of all ideas and can be trained to stay balanced. Beyond substance abuse, we are facing a major challenge with addiction to chewing tobacco, electronic devices, and internet overuse,' he said. MGMGH medical superintendent Udhaya Aruna urged the students to stay alert for behavioural changes among their peers and advised them to seek medical attention at the earliest. A. Niranjana Devi, professor, Department of Psychiatry, spoke.


The Hindu
18-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
MGMGH caters to more patients under new MRI scan centre timings
The Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan centre at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH) in Tiruchi has been able to attend to a greater number of patients after it became a 24-hour service in recent weeks. Earlier, MRI scans would be carried out only by prior appointment at the centre which would work from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The rush for scans would often delay the process, including the report collection. Patients also complained about having to wait for more than 10 days to get a scanning appointment. It is estimated that MRI scans have increased from 25 to 40 daily as a result of the new timings. 'We have been attending to an extra 15 cases per day, as the waiting time has been reduced. The Tamil Nadu Medical Service Corporation has sanctioned extra technicians for the centre. This has also helped to speed up the turnaround time for reports,' S. Kumaravel, dean, K.A.P.V. Government Medical College, attached to MGMGH, told The Hindu on Wednesday. 'We were alerted to the issue of delayed appointments, and decided to increase the hours to help patients access treatment faster. The new timings were instituted in the past few weeks,' said Dr. Kumaravel. In the new system, in-patients can undergo MRI scans upon admission for a better treatment plan, he added. The GH receives approximately 5,000 out-patients, and 1,500 in-patients on a daily basis. MRI scans cost ₹2,500 at the hospital. They are free of charge for patients covered by the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme. The scan facility was inaugurated at MGMGH in 2018, and is equipped to carry out cardiac MRI, neuro perfusion, diffused tensor imaging, CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) flow study, cartilage mapping, magnetic resonance mammograms, whole body MRI scanning in a single shot to pick up secondaries in the bone like PET (positron emission tomography) scan, and all angiograms.