Title - Medical centres to come up at five railway stations

The Southern Railway (SR) has planned to set up medical centres at five railway stations in Madurai Railway Division to provide first aid to passengers.The centres will come up at Madurai, Tirunelveli, Virudhunagar, Thoothukudi and Tenkasi railway stations, according to Chief Medical Director (SR) S.Ram Prakash.After inaugurating the new outpatients block of the Railway Hospital here on Monday, he said the railway would provide the required space at the railway stations free of cost to private hospitals.The respective hospital had to depute a medical officer and two paramedical staff to attend the passengers requiring medical care round the clock. “The hospitals will not charge the passengers for the services,” Mr.Prakash noted.

The hospitals would have to park an ambulance on the railway premises to rush the passengers to the hospital of their choice if they needed further medical care. Such medical centres had been opened at Chennai Central railway station and Salem railway station, he pointed out. The Chief Medical Director said the new outpatient block had been planned on an outlay of Rs.2.5 crore. While the ground floor of the building was ready, work was yet to be completed on the first floor. The new outpatient block would take the crowd off the main building of the hospital.

On the proposal of the Indian Railway to establish a medical college on the Perambur Railway Hospital premises, he said the issue was still at the consultation stage.

Divisional Railway Manager A.K.Rastogi, Additional DRM V.Ajith Kumar, Railway Hospital Chief Medical Superintendent G.Sahoo were also present on the occasion.