Madurai to have UHCs at par with full-fledged hospitals

MADURAI: In a bid to provide better health facilities to the Madurai residents, the public health department of Madurai Corporation is all set to upgrade its urban primary health centers (UPHCs) to Urban Community Health Centers (UCHCs).

Dr S Vinodh Raja, city health officer said that the three UPHCs at Ansari Nagar, Pudur, and Sellur will soon be upgraded to UCHCs with advance facilities specially to provide better child and maternal healthcare.

The upgraded centres will have four specialists, an anesthetist, a pediatrician, an obstetrician and a general medicine doctor. Apart from these specialists, two additional medical officers, more staff nurses, a lab technician and a pharmacist will also be posted to provide 24 hour services in the center, Dr Vinodh added.

These upgraded UCHCs will now have an operation theatre and will allow specialists to perform surgical procedure for family planning and caesarean-section deliveries as well. With these facilities and specialists the UCHCs are expected to be at par with a full-fledged hospitals.

Further, to upgrade more centers, the health department has submitted a proposal to the government seeking upgradation of UPHC in Avaniyapuram at a cost of Rs 1.75 crore and to get new buildings for the Kodikulam and Villapuram UPHCs are also submitted.