RxPG News : Medical News

11 lakh fined for smoking in Delhi's public places

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 16:28:24 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 21 - The Delhi government has fined over 11 lakh people for smoking in public places and earned over Rs.15 million since 1997.

'The effort to make Delhi smoke free started in 1997 and since then we have 'challaned' over 11 lakh people for violating the smoking law,' R.P. Vashishta, head of the anti-smoking wing of the Delhi government, told IANS.

'We are earning nearly Rs.12 lakh annually through fines. I believe that fines are the way to control tobacco consumption,' he said.

In Delhi, smoking in public places attracts a fine up to Rs.200.

Vashishta said that in Delhi, over 80 percent people know that smoking in public place is a punishable offence but a sizable number of them are not very sure about the definition of public place.

'I can say with certain degree of confidence that people are more aware now and this has led to success at some point,' he said.

He said smoking is considered by the youngsters as fashionable and this notion should change. 'Smoking should not be fashionable,' he said.

There are around 30 million tobacco users in India.

Over two million pregnant women in India consume tobacco

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 17:29:56 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 20 - Over two million pregnant women in India consume tobacco products, a shocking figure revealed by the Indian health ministry Saturday.

'It is shocking that over 8.5 percent of the ante-natal mothers in India are tobacco users,' said Jagdish Kaur, in-charge of the tobacco control programme in the health ministry.

She said though the number of tobacco users are mostly men, yet the number is too big, especially for the pregnant women.

There are at least 25 million successful pregnancies every year in India.

Jagdish Kaur said that though the government has taken several steps in curbing the use of tobacco, 'cessation is the most neglected part'.

She said there are 61 tobacco cessation centres - in India, directly under the supervision of the government but more needs to be done. 'The most important thing is awareness and community participation against this.'

'Smoking should be made unfashionable. This can reduce the number of smokers definitely,' R.P. Vashisht, head of the smoke free Delhi initiative of the government said at a function organised by Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and the pharma company Pfizer.

Speaking at the occasion, WHO technical officer - Dhirendra Sinha said in the south-east Asia, comprising of 11 countries including India, tobacco is a major threat to life.

'There are around 40 million tobacco users in the region. The number of Indians of these are 30 million,' said Sinha, adding that 80 percent are non-cigarette smokers.

He said the problem with India is that the number of people who are quitting tobacco is too less. 'Ex-tobacco users are less than five to six percent. That means less number of people have quit smoking.'

Viraj Suvarna, head of the medical affairs and research at Pfizer said that all over world, thousands of people are dying due to tobacco consumption and their company has now helping doctors in creating awareness, setting up TCCs and partnering with voluntary organisation to spread the message of tobacco control.

'We believe smoking cessation is an ideal platform for the private sector to support existing government initiatives. For a more comprehensive outreach program it is important to engage with multiple stakeholders like NGOs, hospitals and the media. We are at a juncture where there is a grave need to educate the people on the benefits of tobacco cessation,' Suvarna added.

Delhiites to queue up outside toilets to spread sanitation message

Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:02:59 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 20 - Realising that simply talking about an issue is of little help, an NGO here has gathered the support of scores of people in resettlement colonies to stand in queues in front of public toilets to draw the government's attention to the lack of proper sanitation in the capital.

Ahead of World Water Day Monday, WaterAid India has asked people to stand in queues in front of public toilets at three places in the capital to highlight the serious shortage of toilets here.

'In India, 638 million people or sixty percent of the population defecate in the open. This is not by choice or habit but because of lack of access to toilets. In urban India, 18 percent people practice open defecation and in rural areas 69 percent. Globally, 1.1 billion people practice open defecation,' Indira Khurana of WaterAid India said.

'This is a major threat to public health. To highlight the issue of sanitation at all levels, civil society groups from across the world are participating in the World's Longest Toilet Queue. In India, we along with our partner NGOs are organising parallel toilet queues in 10 states besides Delhi,' she added.

In Delhi, the campaign is on at Jungpura, Najafgarh and Vasant Kunj.

According to WaterAid India, if the government has to meet its target of making India open-defecation free by March 31, 2012, it has to construct 54 toilets a minute non-stop until that time.

'According to official estimates, the ratio of toilets to the numer of people is 1:20. But in many places the ratio is 1:50 and in some 1:500. To highlight this gap, we have this campaign from March 20-22,' Khurana said.

World's Longest Toilet Queue is a global mobilization campaign to demand action from local, national and international political leaders. The queue is for pushing politicians to prioritise water and sanitation by committing aid and resources at the first high-level meeting on water and sanitation next month in Washington DC.

Rod removed from auto driver's leg in 'rare surgery'

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:53:24 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 19 - A team of doctors here have removed an iron rod from the leg of a 30-year-old auto driver in a 'rare surgery' as the rod had pierced near his ankle and got embedded in the rickshaw.

Doctors of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences - Thursday removed the iron rod from the leg of Amrik, who was badly injured the same day after his auto rickshaw collided with a truck laden with iron rods in south Delhi.

'The auto driver met with an accident in which a 12 mm - iron rod pierced near his ankle and then lodged itself in the rickshaw. The rod had to be cut at two places on either side of the leg in order to bring the patient to the hospital,' M.C. Mishra from AIIMS' department of emergency medicine told reporters.

'We had to plan the course of treatment and the surgery very carefully as the slightest error could have resulted in amputation of the patients foot,' he added.

Sanjoi Bhoi, the doctor in-charge of the treatment, said the surgery was one-of-its-kind.

'The surgery was planned and performed in order to ensure minimum damage and maximum efficiency,' Bhoi said.

Kerala records 268 dengue cases in 2010

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:52:51 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Thiruvananthapuram, March 18 - Nearly 270 cases of dengue have been reported in Kerala this year, catching the authorities unaware as the mosquito-borne disease usually spreads during the monsoon.

According to the latest report from the Kerala health department, the state capital has accounted for 215 of the 268 dengue cases that have been reported in state-run hospitals, while the figure is expected to higher because there is no compilation of records from the numerous private hospitals in the state.

Ernakulam has reported 21 cases while the remaining 12 districts have reported 32 cases between them.

Authorities are surprised as the fever has arrived months before the monsoon, when the density of mosquitoes multiplies at a rapid pace.

Speaking to IANS, Thomas Mathew, who heads the department of community medicine at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, said that a recent study showed that 75 per cent of the areas that have reported the fever face water shortages.

'The main reason for this is that all these areas which reported a high rate of dengue cases face a serious water shortage. There are areas under the Thiruvananthapuram corporation where water comes only once a week and hence people are forced to store water and it is here that mosquitoes breed,' Mathew said.

'The perception that dengue is associated with the rains is wrong because the National Institute of Communicable Diseases has in a study pointed out that it is endemic in nature,' he added.

Health Minister P.K. Sreemathi Tuesday called a high-level meeting to take stock of the situation.

The meeting decided to form a joint coordination committee of various departments and to launch a campaign to spread awareness among the people, officials said.

Private hospitals disqualified from birth scheme in Madhya Pradesh

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 12:04:13 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Bhopal, March 18 - Madhya Pradesh has disqualified private hospitals from a scheme to promote institutional deliveries - as opposed to births at home - after the World Health Organisation - found they were encouraging caesarean operations for financial gains.

'While the private hospitals have been informed that they wouldn't be paid for the deliveries any more, the scheme would continue in government hospitals,' said Health Director A.N. Mittal.

The government had in 2008 launched the Janani Suraksha Yojana - with an aim to reduce the high maternal mortality rate in the state, which at that time was 498 deaths per 100,000 births. Under the scheme, families were urged to avoid home deliveries and go for institutional deliveries. For this, BPL beneficiaries were given an incentive of Rs.1,400 in rural areas and Rs.1,000 in urban areas.

Health volunteers who encouraged women to have institutional deliveries were also paid an honorarium of Rs.400 per case.

After the introduction of the scheme, the maternal mortality rate came down to 335 deaths per 100,000 births. The scheme's popularity forced the government to engage private clinics as government hospitals could not cope with the rush.

The provisions of the scheme envisaged a payment of Rs.1,200 for each normal delivery to accredited private hospitals while a C-section operation fetched Rs.5,500 per case.

'Since a caesarean delivery fetched more than four times payment as compared to a normal delivery, private hospitals lay more stress on it to make more money,' a health department official told IANS on condition of anonymity.

Around 40 hospitals accredited with the government under the Janani Suraksha Yojana performed 265 C-section deliveries against 307 normal deliveries between April 2009 and December 2009, he said.

The WHO recently criticised the phenomenon, saying: 'No region in the world can justify more than 10-15 caesarean deliveries per 100 births. But in Madhya Pradesh, the JSY -- the government scheme for expecting mothers -- saw that in nine months, nearly one in two underwent C-sections when they enrolled in accredited private clinics.'

Following criticism, the government disqualified private hospitals from being part of the scheme.

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A new option for Indian women - the vaginal ring

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:09:12 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Kolkata, March 17 - For women who often forget to take their oral contraceptives amid busy schedules, doctors say the vaginal ring should come in handy. Promising negligible chances of pregnancy, it arrived in India about three months ago.

Doctors say the product gives women the same benefit as oral contraception minus the effect of the pills on the liver. It is a medicated ring that releases certain hormones.

'Worldwide acceptance of the vaginal ring is high, but it's very new in India, only three months old,' Ratnabali Chakraborty, gynaecologist and obstetrician at the Institute of Laparoscopic Surgery, Bellevue Clinic, told IANS.

Chakraborty said the soft and transparent ring, inserted inside the vagina, can stay within for three weeks, after which it has to be taken out. It uses the same combination of hormones as the pill but in a different way.

She claimed there was zero percent chance of pregnancy with the vaginal ring. 'It is a non-irritant and delivers a very small quantity of hormones,' she said.

In India, where an increasing number of women want to plan out their marriages and children, the use of contraceptive methods has gone up.

The most popular methods of contraception used by women in developing countries are female sterilisation, oral contraceptives, injectibles and intra-uterine devices. The vaginal ring adds to this list.

'This gives a choice of contraception to women. Nowadays, women like to know fully about the product before they use it,' said Kushaghra Ghosh, consultant physician in Kolkata's Woodlands nursing home.

The vaginal ring uses the same combination of hormones as the pill but in a different way.

'The liver bears the brunt of the first pass effect of any hormone, but this new procedure will spare the liver...it has the combination of the same hormones but is used in a different way,' he said.

'It is best suited for working women and especially for those whose working hours are not very regular like women working in BPOs or as air hostesses,' he said.

The ring is not sold over the counter yet.

Ghosh said one does not need to go to the doctor to insert it. It can be inserted by a woman herself and has the least chance of coming out as it is sticky in nature.

However, the price may be an issue. One ring costs Rs.800 per month, whereas for oral contraceptives one needs to shell out only Rs.200 a month.

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Health train takes epilepsy treatment to villages

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:17:03 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Sasaram/New Delhi, March 17 - When the health train chugged to a halt at Sasaram station in Bihar, there was a doctor on board to treat a condition that villagers had given up hope of ever finding a cure for - epilepsy, a neurological disorder that affects 10 million people in India.

The doctor, Mamta Bhushan Singh, assistant professor in the department of neurology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences -, saw around 180 patients at Sasaram during the around two days she spent as part of the Lifeline Express, the world's first hospital on a train, which stopped at Sasaram last month.

The AIIMS doctor was the first expert the villagers had ever met to treat epilepsy, leaving it earlier to faith healers and quacks.

'Barely any of the epilepsy patients in Sasaram was on any treatment other than faith healing!' Singh told IANS.

The people were so happy to get good doctors to treat them - a rare occurrence in rural India - that none of the patients or their families left the station while the train was parked there. They didn't want to miss meeting the doctor.

The Lifeline Express, run by the non-profit organisation Impact India Foundation, has doctors to treat disablities like cleft lip and to perform cataract surgeries, free of cost. It expanded its medical services to treat epilepsy over a year ago and Singh is invited to come on board whenever the train embarks on a healing journey.

Speaking of her interaction with the patients and their families, Singh said she begins by trying to overcome their embarassment about speaking of their health condition.

'This invariably would get some of them sobbing while relating the symptoms of their kin, while some parents would ask in hushed voices, 'How will I get my epilepsy-afflicted daughter married?'' she said.

Recounting one epilepsy case, she said there was a tribal woman in her 30s who had come to meet her with her child and her elderly mother. The woman and her child had been abandoned by her husband because of uncontrolled epilepsy and her widowed mother was very poor.

Singh gave the woman medicines from the stock she carries on such journeys. But what happens after the medicine stock finishes? Where do the patients get their medicine from since epilepsy requires continuous treatment for a long duration.

'I wish the government could have a programme to provide assistance for continuing medical cover to such patients. Almost every day, I think of the woman and what she will do once her free medicine samples are over,' she said.

Singh said she is trying to link up with neurologists in different cities who would act as volunteers and be there at the station when the train visits - coordinating at the local level with her efforts. Another aim is to push for the setting up of small clinics in villages where epilepsy patents can be treated and get medicines free.

'It is no fault of a child with epilepsy that he or she is born in a village. The medicines are affordable,' she said, adding, 'At least 50 percent and as much as 75 percent of patients in the country can be treated with one medicine.'

'The treatment gap in epilepsy, which means patients not getting treatment or getting inadequate treatment, is huge - around 70-90 percent. This is a dismal state of affairs,' said Singh.

Singh has earlier been with the train to Piardoba in West Bengal's Bishnupur, where many patients approached her for treatment.

She is now trying to set up a database of patients, with their names and addresses, to follow up cases and also a system where patients can make a call to a single number for assistance when required.

The well-equipped train stops at Dabra, Madhya Pradesh, next week.

The Lifeline Express was launched on July 16, 1991. The train has designed air-conditioned coaches, a surgical operation theatre along with three operating tables, a sterilising room, patient wards, on-board power generators, pantry car, storeroom for medical provisions and lodging for medical staff.

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Women's car rally to create breast cancer awareness

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:00:19 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 16 - Nearly 100 women, some of them survivors of breast cancer, will drive from Delhi to Jaipur April 2 to create awareness about the disease that kills over 40,000 women every year in India.

'Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in cities and we hope this rally will spread awareness among people,' Ramesh Sarin, founder chairperson of the Forum for Breast Cancer Protection, told IANS Tuesday.

Said P.K. Julka, a senior oncologist at AIIMS: 'Nearly 100,000 women get affected by breast cancer in India, of whom around 40,000 die due to lack of awareness and late diagnosis. People need to change their lifestyle. Balanced food and exercise are key to battle the disease.'

During the rally, the organisers will hold two awareness lectures at Dharuhera and Alwar on their way to Jaipur. They would also screen a short film on the disease and distribute CDs and literature to women for self checks.

The rally will start April 2 from Saket in south Delhi. The rally is a Time Speed Distance - event that comprises a set of instructions specifying a route to travel, and a speed at which to travel.

HIV positive people break barrier, literally

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:53:07 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 16 - More than three decades after the first HIV case was officially reported in India, the community of infected people Tuesday took a huge step towards coming out of the closet and breaking barriers by releasing a book featuring their photographs.

'For the first time in India, you are seeing the faces of HIV positive people published as it is,' J. Goswami, who heads the Indian Network of Positive - people, told IANS.

'So far, HIV positive people never allowed their faces to be published without being blurred or covered but we have come out of the closet, showing the real faces to the world. This is a great step in the direction of social assimilation,' Goswami added.

Now, HIV positive people are ready to be named and photographed and this book is a real success story in that direction, she said.

The book, 'Positive Journey', portrays the life of nearly 100 HIV positive people through photos and short biographical life stories.

Stanley Joseph, project manager of INP+, said the publication is the culmination of the network's hard work among the community.

'This book is a testimony of reducing stigma in our society. We have portrayed them with their families, at work and with children too. The stigma has reduced but it is still there,' Joesph added.

He said the book has focused mainly on six high-prevalence states - Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur and Nagaland. India is home to at least 2.3 million HIV positive people.

201 inmates of Tihar Jail are HIV positive

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:33:54 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 16 - As many as 201 inmates at the Tihar Jail here have tested positive for HIV infection between June 2008 and Feb 2010, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi Azad said Tuesday.

'In Tihar Jail, since June 2008 to February 2010, 2,540 inmates have been tested and out of them 201 have been found to be HIV positive. At present, 55 inmates infected from HIV/AIDS are lodged in Delhi jails, out of which 14 inmates are on anti-retroviral therapy,' Azad said.

In his written statement to the Rajya Sabha, Azad added that inmates are regularly informed about the causes of spread of HIV and counselled to reduce risks and remain HIV negative.

According to the ministry, around 33,886 people have tested positive for HIV infection in different integrated counselling and testing centres - in Delhi from 2002 to 2009.

Of these, 23,946 are under care of the nine anti-retroviral therapy - centres in Delhi.

'Currently around 6,707 people living with HIV-AIDS - are alive and on regular treatment -,' the ministry said.

'Vaccine shots to infants in Madhya Pradesh were poisonous'

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:00:49 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Bhopal, March 15 - The anti-measles vaccine that killed four babies in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh district last week turned a killer because it was used over three hours after being mixed, a health official said Monday.

The samples of the vaccines were sealed and sent to New Delhi for examination and the vaccination programme was suspended.

While the report from New Delhi was yet to come in, health department director A.N. Mittal, who visited Damoh, said: 'The vaccine shots given to the children had turned poisonous because they were administered over three hours after its powder was mixed with the solvent'.

Four babies died and 16 were taken ill Saturday after they were administered anti-measles shots at a government health centre in Damoh district. Nurse Durga Tiwari was arrested on charges of negligence and district vaccination officer Anupam Kulshreshta and LHV vaccination centre's S. Nayak were suspended.

The victims were identified as Arti Thakur, Gaurav Vishvakarma, Roshni Gond and Arman Vishwakarma.

While the post-mortem examination reports of the infants revealed that they died of toxic shock syndrome, a rare and unforeseen snag following measles vaccination, the parents of the victims said the babies started frothing at the mouth and nose, turned blue and died within 12 hours of being given the vaccine. In all, 20 infants were administered the vaccine.

Iraqi amputees to wear Jaipur Foot

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:36:15 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Jaipur, March 15 - Iraqis who have lost their legs in years of war and conflict would soon be mobile again, thanks to Jaipur Foot India would be providing them with.

Indian experts Monday left for Iraq to provide the Jaipur Foot, artificial legs known to be cosmetically and functionally close to the human limb, to about 1,000 amputees in the war-torn country.

A 22-member team of the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti -, makers of the famous Jaipur Foot, headed for Baghdad for a month-long rehabilitation camp to give away the artificial limbs. The camp will be held from March 16 to April 15.

D.R. Mehta, founder and chief patron of the BMVSS, said the organisation had fitted more than 370,000 artificial limbs around the world, including in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Sierra Leone.

A team of BMVSS is currently holding a camp at Vavunia in northern Sri Lanka to provide artificial limbs to the victims of the civil war. The limbs are being provided free of cost to the Tamil refugees.

'The mobility earned through the artificial limb helps amputees to change their lives and earn their livelihood,' Menta said.

The BMVSS has held 36 camps in the world, particularly in countries that have witnessed horrific wars that have left thousands disabled.

According to experts, the beauty of the Jaipur Foot is its lightness and mobility. Those who wear it can run, climb trees, pedal bicycles and drive a car - all without the aid of a stick or any other support.

-- Indo-Asian News Service

as/pp/vt

3.4 lakh drug users de-addicted in three years: Minister

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:53:46 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 15 - Around 340,000 people have benefited from drug de-addiction centres in the country over the last three years, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment D. Napolean said Monday.

'The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment under the scheme of assistance for prevention of alcoholism and substance - abuse is financially assisting the eligible organisations for running 401 Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts - all over the country,' Napolean informed the Lok Sabha.

'Furthermore, the ministry of health and family welfare has established 122 drug de-addiction centres in government hospitals. It also provides financial assistance to eligible organisations, including NGOs, for running de-addiction centres to provide integrated services for rehabilitation of addicts, including youth,' he added.

Of the total de-addiction centres across the country, 36 have been sanctioned in the last three years. Seven of them are located in Madhya Pradesh alone.

'About 340,000 persons have benefited through these de-addiction centres in the last three years,' Napolean said.

On the role of NGOs, he said: 'Reputed NGOs with adequate experience and good track record are designated as Regional Resource and Training Centres and are financially assisted for capacity building and skill development for service providers at the regional level.'

Cancerous mouth pictures on tobacco products from June 1

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:13:42 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 15 - Come June 1, packets of cigarettes and other tobacco products will display pictures of cancerous mouths as health warnings, health officials said Monday.

The 'grotesque' picture will occupy at least 40 percent of the packet area and will be displayed on the top portion so that people could be dissuaded from using tobacco which causes cancer, and is one of the top 10 killers in India.

The health ministry, as per provisions of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products - Rules, 2008, and amended in 2008 and 2009, notified the new pictorial health warnings March 5, a health ministry official told IANS.

The new specified health warnings for both smoking and smokeless forms of tobacco will come into effect from June 1, the official added.

These pictorial warnings will also be displayed on packets of cigars, cheroots, bidis, pipe tobacco, hookah tobacco, as well as pan masala or any chewing material that contains tobacco.

Officials said violation of the provision will invite to the manufacturer imprisonment extending to two years or a fine up to Rs.5,000, or both, while violations by seller or distributor will also be a punishable offence with imprisonment which may extend to one year, or fines up to Rs.1,000 or both.

'Tobacco is the foremost cause of preventable death in the world today. In India, the tobacco attributable deaths currently range between 800,000 to 900,000 per year,' the health ministry official said.

'The cost of the tobacco attributable burden of just three groups of diseases - was estimated Rs.30,833 crore in 2002-03,' the official said.

According to Binoy Matthew of Voluntary Health Association of India -, an NGO which has been very active in carrying out anti-tobacco campaigns in the country, field tests of these pictorial warnings conducted in seven states - Orissa, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh - were found effective.

'The pictorial warnings on tobacco products were enforced May 31 last year. However, they were found to be ineffective. Further, the rules mandate that the pictorial warnings should be rotated every 12 months - thus the new warnings, which show a picture of oral cancer, will be implemented in June,' Matthew said.

According to the WHO, cancer is one of the top 10 killers in India. The world health agency has said India will witness over 50 per cent growth in deaths due to cancer, that is over 666,000 people will die every year in India by 2015 due to the disease.

NRI's lawsuit seeks contempt action against Kolkata hospital

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:04:23 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 15 - A US-based Indian origin medical practitioner has moved the Supreme Court seeking contempt of court proceedings against a Kolkata hospital for ignoring the court's order to pay a penalty of Rs.500,000 for causing his wife's death due to medical negligence.

Kunal Saha of HIV/AIDS Research Center, Columbus, Ohio, has moved the court, pointing out that Kolkata's Advanced Medicare Research Institute - and its managing director Mani K. Chettri have been ignoring the court's order for the last seven months.

In his lawsuit, filed through senior counsel T.V. George, Saha said that on Aug 9 last year the apex court indicted prestigious AMRI and four eminent Kolkata doctors for causing the death of his wife Anuradha, a child psychologist, in 1998. She died while undergoing treatment for a common ailment at the hospital in the care of the four doctors -- Sukumar Mukherjee, Abani Roychowdhury, Baidyanath Halder and Balaram Prasad, according to Saha's lawsuit.

The court, after indicting the hospital and the four doctors, referred the matter back to the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission -, which was looking into the case, to decide the quantum of compensation that the hospital and the doctors should pay to the expatriate doctor.

The doctor approached the Supreme Court earlier, demanding a record compensation of Rs. 77.78 crore -. He challenged the NCDRC's judgement, which had acquitted the doctors of all charges of medical negligence and malpractice.

But the apex court, on appeal, held them guilty and asked the NCDRC to determine the requisite compensation for the death of Saha's wife. It also imposed an additional penalty of Rs.500,000 and Rs.100,000 respectively on AMRI and one of the doctors, Mukherjee.

Mukherjee eventually paid the penalty imposed upon him but the hospital had been ignoring the court's order, Saha's lawsuit said, uirging the court to initiate contempt to court proceedings against the managing director of the hospital.

The lawsuit also lamented that despite the court's order, the NCDRC was moving at a snail's pace in determining the compensation amount.

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India mends Uganda kids' hearts, Tharoor bids hearty 'bye

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 21:28:26 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 14 - Tired yet relieved, parents and their little ones who came all the way from Uganda to seek treatment for heart diseases were Sunday seen off by Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor, who said they had managed to 'cross international frontiers that divide people'.

As part of aid organisation Rotary International's Gift of Life initiative, the strife of 25 kids from Uganda, who came here between January and March to undergo heart surgeries, came to a happy end as the last three children and their kin got ready to fly back home Sunday night.

Tharoor, the chief guest for the event, hailed their journey as unique.

'What is interesting is the internationalism behind your contribution, because what you have done has not only imparted the gift of life but also recognised that life knows no frontiers,' Tharoor said to the Rotary officials.

'The borders and divisions that borders engender are artificial divisions. But the human heart recognises no passports and no borders. And the fact that you, the children from Uganada, have crossed international frontiers that divide people -,' Tharoor told the gathering organised by Rotary.

Tharoor recalled former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's famous Independence speech and said: 'India as a country has for millennia felt a sense of responsibility not only towards itself but to the rest of the world.... That has been the spirit that has animated India's foreign policy and India's participation in world affairs as a global citizen.'

As he spoke, Atugonza Brevalin, 13, sat close by her mother Anifa Nambirui looking fatigued but happy.

'When she was nine months old, I discovered that she had a hole in her heart. Operation was the only solution. When the Indian doctors from here came to Uganda to select my girl for surgery I was hopeful again. This visit to India has been like a dream come true for me,' Anifa told IANS later.

The two came here with two other ailing children and their families for heart surgery. All of them fly out to Uganda Sunday night with what the acting High Commissioner of Uganda in India Katureebe Philip Tayebwa called 'a new lease of life'.

'Thanks for the job. Well done!' he told the Indian doctors of Escorts Hospital and Rotary members.

Tharoor concluded by saying that the Rotary initiative which 'inspires me', reminded him of the old Sanskrit saying 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' that says that the world is one family. 'And in one family, we all have an obligation to look after our weakest members. This is what you have done.'

Haryana's low-cost surgery package a big hit: officials

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:11:12 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Chandigarh, March 14 - The subsidised surgery package programme of the Haryana government is becoming quite popular in the state with around 48,000 people benefiting from it in just seven months, officials said here Sunday.

The one-of-its-kind programme was launched in July last year in all government hospitals.

'Increasing number of people are coming to government health institutions to avail of the benefits of this package. A patient just needs to pay a one-time fixed cost after which everything is taken care of by the hospital. The cost is quite subsidised as compared to private set-up,' said Health Minister Geeta Bhukkal.

'All surgeries are free for BPL - card holders and residents of urban slums notified by the local and urban bodies. It covers the cost of everything right from the time surgery is advised till the time the patient is discharged,' she added.

Out of 48,000 people who availed of this service in the first seven months, 5,400 were from BPL, more than 300 patients from notified slum areas, and 6,200 expectant mothers who were treated free-of-cost.

4 Madhya Pradesh infants die after measles vaccination

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:39:09 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Bhopal, March 14 - Four babies died and 16 were taken ill after they were administered anti-measles shots at a government health centre in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh district, officials said Sunday. A nurse has been arrested on charges of negligence.

Three children, aged between two to 12 months, died and 17 fell ill Saturday after they were administered the vaccine in Damoh town, nearly 300 km from here.

Another child succumbed Sunday, said Chief Medical and Health Officer D.K. Shrivastav.

'The negligence of the nurse, Durga Tiwari, who supplied the vaccines to the Anganwadi, has been found to be the cause behind the tragedy and she has been arrested by the police on charges of negligence and destroying evidence,' he said.

The victims were identified as Arti Thakur, Gaurav Vishvakarma, Roshni Gond and Pinki.

The parents of the victims said the babies started frothing at mouth and nose, turned blue and died within 12 hours of being given the vaccine. In all, 20 children were administered the vaccine.

'While the post-mortem examination reports of the infants reveal that they died of toxic shock syndrome, a rare and unforeseen snag following measles vaccination, it seems that the protocol for the cold chain for preserving vaccines was broken,' Shrivastav told IANS.

'The nurse apparently took the vaccines home in a thermo flask, stored it in refrigerator overnight before bringing it back for distribution the next day,' he said.

The samples of the vaccines have been sealed and sent to New Delhi for examination and the vaccination programme has been suspended till the reports come in, Damoh Police Superintendent D.K. Arya said.

Damoh Collector R.A. Aggarwal said: 'Investigations have been launched to ascertain the cause of the three children's death. Further action will be taken after the report comes in.'

Punish pharma firms offering doctors gifts, says MCI

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:06:45 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 14 - After quantifying punishments for doctors accepting gifts, the Medical Council of India - Sunday said it has also written to the health ministry to regulate pharmaceutical companies luring doctors through gifts and free hospitality.

'Doctors are under our jurisdiction and we have now regulated them. But the other half - pharma companies - too need regulation on equal terms,' Vedprakash Mishra, an MCI member, told IANS.

'We have already written to the health ministry seeking equal and stringent regulation for these companies. You cannot expect fair play by punishing one group and sparing the other,' Mishra said.

'We are for it and the technical committee of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Indian government have been briefed by us. We hope a set of guidelines will also be out soon for these people,' Mishra said.

Authorities said the health ministry is discussing with all stake-holders and a fair outcome will come out.

'The illegal practice of accepting favours was going on unabated for long and the fresh guidelines will deter the unethical practice. We also need to put a deterrent for these pharmaceuticals -,' he added.

The MCI, which is the apex regulatory agency for doctors in India, Saturday suggested various degrees of punishments for doctors who accept gifts from any pharmaceutical or allied health care groups.

The punishments range from censure - to removal from the Indian or State Medical Registry for more than one year -.

Apollo Hospitals to conduct research in ayurveda

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:22:06 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 14 - Ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine struggling to get due recognition oweing to its inadequate scientific validation, has now found a new patron in Apollo Hospitals. The chain will carry out research to establish ayurveda as potent system of medicine worldwide.

'The Indian system of medicine has faced many roadblocks due to lack of enough research. We are set to carry out scientific study on ayurveda and other systems of medicine,' Prathap C. Reddy, chairman of the Apollo Hospital chain, told IANS.

He said many countries like the US have claimed that several Indian medicines have heavy metals beyond the permissible limit. Many also claim that these treatments are not backed by scientific validation.

'Here, we are taking it up. We will conduct research in our hospitals across India and come up with a database. After that we will offer willing patients these treatments,' Reddy added.

He said Apollo has already tied up with a leading ayurveda house in Kerala.

'Once we provide the scientific validation, we will set up a chain of ayurveda centres to provide treatment for patients,' Reddy said.

India developing vaccine against cattle disease

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 13:50:58 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 14 - India is developing an indigenous vaccine against Johne's disease that is prevalent in cattle in many parts of northern India, the government has told parliament.

The indigenous vaccine against Johne's disease/paratuberculosis, developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research -, 'is at an experimental stage,' Minister of State for Agriculture K.V. Thomas said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

He, however, said 'the vaccine is not known to eliminate or prevent infection of this disease because it does not offer an absolute resistance to the causative agent.'

Johne's disease/paratuberculosis is a wasting disease in animals.

In India, the disease is prevalent in cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats in Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

The minister said there was no vaccine available in the country for field use now.

Though there is no scheme to provide treatment against this disease, animals in organised farms are tested and, if found posive, are segregated, the minister said.

Government to foot BPL families' heart, kidney treatment bills

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:07:34 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 12 - The government will fully reimburse families living below the poverty line - for treatment of heart and kidney diseases, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told the Lok Sabha Friday.

Azad admitted there were inadequate special health centres for heart and kidney diseases in the country.

'We have started a two-pronged strategy -- increasing the number of specialist and super-specialist doctors, and creating infrastructure,' he said.

'We are trying to upgrade both human resources and infrastructure simultaneously. This year 4,000 additional specialists and super specialists would be added,' he said.

Replying to a question about the health infrastructure, the health minister said a massive programme was in place to reduce the rush of patients to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences - in New Delhi.

He said that of the eight proposed AIIMS-like institutions being set up in various parts of the country, six would be ready within the next two years.

Azad said due to the heavy influx of patients, people from far away places were facing difficulties in getting treatment at AIIMS.

'However, I want to announce through this house to the people that the government will bear the cost of heart and kidney treatments of patients from BPL families,' he said, amid loud applause from the house.

Jaipur foot for Sri Lankan amputees

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 10:32:02 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Jaipur, March 12 - Amputees in Sri Lanka, who lost their limbs during the prolonged civil war in the country, will now be able to lead a near normal life with the help of the Jaipur foot - artificial legs made in Rajasthan that are known for being cosmetically and functionally close to the human limb.

A team of 19 skilled technicians of the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti -, the makers of the famous Jaipur foot, is holding a camp in Sri Lankan capital Colombo to provide about 1,000 amputees with artificial limbs.

The team, led by A.B. Sharma, would provide the artificial limbs, considered to be the most inexpensive and cost effective in the world, at the camp at Vavuniya, starting Friday. It will end April 10.

The team would provide the Jaipur foot and the Jaipur knee free of cost to the victims who lost their limbs during the civil war in the northern part of Sri Lanka.

D.R Mehta, the founder and chief patron of the BMVSS, said that so far the organisation has fitted more than 370,000 artificial limbs around the world, including in Afghanistan, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and Sierra Leone.

'The mobility earned through the artificial limb helps amputees to change their lives and earn their livelihood,' he said.

He said the Jaipur foot fitment has been provided to landmine victims and others in foreign countries. The BMVSS has so far conducted 36 such camps in various parts of the world, particularly those countries that witnessed wars in which thousand of people became disabled.

The beauty of the Jaipur foot is its lightness and mobility. Those who wear it can run, climb trees, pedal bicycles and drive a car - all without the aid of a stick or any other support.

Preity Zinta to spread AIDS awareness via IPL

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:37:53 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 11 - Bollywood actor Preity Zinta, who was Thursday appointed as the goodwill ambassador for UNAIDS in India, will create awareness against AIDS along with the members of her Indian Premier League - team Kings XI Punjab.

'All our players will sport red ribbons during their matches. In our first match against Delhi Daredevils, we will take an HIV positive person to the toss to convey our message against stigma and discrimination,' Preity said here.

'Me and my team will produce a short commercial to spread awareness against the disease. I will be there, our captain Kumar Sangakkara and other players will also be there,' she added.

Besides, Kings XI Punjab will donate 25 percent of the profit they will earn from selling their merchandise to UNAIDS, which will decide its usage for the betterment of HIV positive people.

On being appointed goodwill ambassador for UNAIDS, Preity said: 'I have done many roles. This one is different. I am very happy.'

'All human beings, wherever we are, have the basic right to be happy and healthy. I see this as a great opportunity to bring the realities faced by people living with HIV to the forefront and to call for attention to the injustices faced by them,' she said.

Preity will work to create awareness on HIV prevention, treatment, care and support, with an emphasis on women, children and oppressed classes, the UN body said.

'Goodwill ambassadors are celebrities with a demonstrated commitment to improving the lives of people living with HIV. Highly talented in their own right, they all share an ability to bring issues to global attention, to galvanize support from the public and leading decision makers, and to raise urgently needed support and attention for vital UN programmes,' Charles Gilks, country coordinator, UNAIDS, said.

'I am very pleased to appoint Preity Zinta as UNAIDS' special representative,' Gilks added.

India is home to at least 2.3 million HIV positive people.

New pictorial warnings on tobacco products from June 1

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:37:09 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 10 - Come June 1 and cigarette packets and tobacco products will carry a new set of pictorial health warnings, an NGO said Wednesday.

Binoy Matthew of Voluntary Health Association of India -, an NGO said: 'The ministry of health and family welfare March 5 notified the new pictorial health warnings which will be implemented on all tobacco products from June 1.'

'Since the news came just a few days before the No Smoking Day, which is today, we are very happy. VHAI had field tested these pictorial warnings in seven states in the country and found them to be most effective,' he told IANS.

The seven states where VHAI tested the pictorial warnings for efficacy were Orissa, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

'The pictorial warnings on tobacco products were enforced May 31 last year. However they were found to be ineffective. Further the rules mandate that the pictorial warnings should be rotated every 12 months - thus the new warnings which shows a picture of oral cancer, will be implemented in June,' Matthew said.

India likely to start swine flu vaccination next week

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:33:09 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 10 - India is 'most likely' to administer imported swine flu vaccine to the high risk groups from next week, a senior health ministry official said Wednesday.

'Most likely, we will start the vaccination next week,' V.M. Katoch, secretary - in ministry of health and family welfare, told IANS.

Katoch said multinational pharma company Sanofi Pasteur has already completed its bridge study and the data has been given to a health ministry committee for analysis.

'The last set of data from Sanofi Pasteur's bridge study in India came to us Feb 28. The data is now with a government committee, which is analysing it.

'We expect the analysis to end in a few days and vaccination most likely to start the coming week,' he said, adding that the high risk groups like doctors and paramedics will be vaccinated first.

India has already procured 1.5 million doses of swine flu vaccine from Sanofi Pasteur. But authorities had asked the pharma major to conduct a bridge human trail in India to test if it suits the Indian population.

Since, the country reported its first influenza A - case in May 2009, over 1,300 people have died due to the pandemic virus and over 30,000 have been infected by it.

Indian institute's unique cancer therapy goes to Malaysia

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:02:54 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 9 - After successfully treating hundreds of cancer patients in India, a Noida-based institute has now accepted an offer from Malaysia to provide targeted 'dendritic cell' therapy to patients there.

The Institute of Cellular Therapies - has devised a new treatment that uses cell-based cancer immuno-therapy - treatment using the patient's own mononuclear cells transformed into cancer-specific dendritic - cells.

Through this therapy, medical experts extract the mononuclear - cells from the patient's own blood, transform these cells into cancer-fighting cells and implant them back in the patients body.

'Dendritic cell therapy is a targeted add-on treatment for cancer patients. It helps the recovery process and reduces the chance of relapse of the disease among patients. We are happy that the Malaysian government authorities now want this treatment to be made available there,' senior doctor and ICT director Jamal A. Khan told IANS.

Khan said that his institute will set up a cell culture lab for clinical trials in Malaysia very soon.

He said ICT will work in tandem with Malaysia's health ministry to set up the lab and making this treatment popular. Malaysia is currently importing the medicine from ICT and after the lab comes up in the country, ICT will manufacture the medicine - Denvax - in Malaysia.

'This treatment is not available in Malaysia and it will work as an additional facility for the people of that country. Our therapy targets the cancer cells without affecting other cells around the cancerous part of the body,' he added.

Khan said Denvax targets only the cancer cells without harming the healthy ones. It is safe and effective and works best to prevent relapse and recurrences, the major cause of mortality and morbidity.

Denvax helps in correcting the failed immune surveillance and teaches the immune system to recognize and kill cancer cells.

'Denvax destroys the disseminated cancer cells, thereby preventing its development, slowing the spread of cancer and improving life expectancy,' the senior doctor added.

-

30,000 kids die of diseases in Madhya Pradesh each year

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:51:36 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Bhopal, March 8 - The Madhya Pradesh government Monday admitted in the state assembly that on an average 30,000 children die of various diseases in the state every year.

Replying to a question from Congress legislator Mahendra Singh Kalukheba, Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Anoop Mishra said that out of these 30,000, 60 percent are malnourished children who are more prone to infections that cause diseases like malaria, pneumonia and measles.

According to the minister, while 29,274 children died in the state during the year 2008-09, in 2007-08 the figure stood at 30,397. Similarly, the number of children who died was 32,188 and 30,563 in 2006-07 and 2005-06 respectively.

The minister said the main reasons leading to malnutrition in a child were early pregnancy, premature birth of a child, low weight at birth, poor feeding, discontinuity of breast feeding before six months. These need to be curbed and the government was making efforts towards the same, he said.

Mishra said that the government was running 200 nutritional rehabilitation centres to cater to the requirements of malnourished children and plans to open another 25 in the next financial year.

30,000 kids die of diseases in Madhya Pradesh each year

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:51:36 PST

30,000 kids die of diseases in Madhya Pradesh each year

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:51:36 PST

30,000 kids die of diseases in Madhya Pradesh each year

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:51:36 PST

30,000 kids die of diseases in Madhya Pradesh each year

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:51:36 PST

Human trials for single injection cancer cure to begin

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:32:53 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) New Delhi, March 7 - Treating cancer with just one injection? It may sound unbelievable, but an Indian medical institute is soon to start human trials to treat cancer in six weeks through a solitary injection dose.

'It's a single injection dose medicine to treat cancer. If everything goes fine, it will be a novel medical breakthrough,' Kushagra Kataria, chief executive officer of Artemis Health Institute in Gurgaon, told IANS.

'We are set to start human trials in May with a limited number of patients,' said Kataria, a thoracic oncologist.

He said medical scientists will inject 'oncolytic virus' into the human body, which will target the cancer cells and treat patients with much precision and success. Subjects for this trial would be primarily patients suffering from lung, neck and cervical cancer.

Artemis, one of the leading tertiary care hospitals in India, will be conducting the trials in collaboration with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York.

Kataria said animal trials conducted in Britain had given encouraging results. 'The drug has already been tested on mice with human cancer tumours. It has given optimistic results.'

In the current conventional therapy, cancer treatment affects healthy cells along with cancerous cells but in the new treatment, the medicine will not affect any other cells of the body other than the cancerous tumour and cells.

'It will be targeted therapy,' Kataria explained. 'If everything goes well, we believe it will reduce all side effects of the conventional treatment.'

He added that right from finance to time, the treatment will be more human friendly.

While tens of thousands of people die every year due to cancer, India is home to nearly two million patients at any given period of time.

Human trials for single injection cancer cure to begin

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:32:53 PST

Human trials for single injection cancer cure to begin

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:32:53 PST

Human trials for single injection cancer cure to begin

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:32:53 PST

Human trials for single injection cancer cure to begin

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:32:53 PST

Human trials for single injection cancer cure to begin

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:32:53 PST

Human trials for single injection cancer cure to begin

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:32:53 PST

Employees' union protests during Azad's visit to hospital

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:52:30 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Kolkata, March 6 - Members of a Congress-Trinamool Congress-led employees' union staged a protest at the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital Saturday and demanded better medical infrastructure at the hospital during the visit of central Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.

The members of West Bengal Government Employees Federation - submitted a memorandum to the health minister demanding improvement in healthcare services. They also sought advanced medical equipment and better facilities at the hospital.

The protesters shouted slogans and demanded the resignation of state Health Minister Suryakanta Mishra who was also present on the occasion.

'I have discussed the administrative development and faculty related issues with the hospital authorities today - in the meeting. All the issues would definitely be looked into,' Azad told reporters.

He said: 'I came to see the progress of the ongoing upgradation work at the hospital.'

'A total of Rs.120 crore will be spent on the project for setting up an OPD - and a new administrative building at the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital this year.'

Central Minister of State for Health Dinesh Trivedi said: 'I personally requested the minister to look into the issue of the college's infrastructure upgradation. Thus, he - came to review the progress of work.'

Blaming the state government for slow implementation of the project, Trinamool Congress leader Trivedi said: 'The upgradation work is being carried out very slowly. It should be put on fast track.'

Azad, during his day-long visit to the city, also visited Chittaranjan Cancer Hospital in the morning to inaugurate a specialised therapy unit.

Employees' union protests during Azad's visit to hospital

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:52:30 PST

Employees' union protests during Azad's visit to hospital

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:52:30 PST

Employees' union protests during Azad's visit to hospital

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:52:30 PST

Employees' union protests during Azad's visit to hospital

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:52:30 PST

Employees' union protests during Azad's visit to hospital

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:52:30 PST

Employees' union protests during Azad's visit to hospital

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:52:30 PST

Employees' union protests during Azad's visit to hospital

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:52:30 PST

Employees' union protests during Azad's visit to hospital

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:52:30 PST

Employees' union protests during Azad's visit to hospital

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:52:30 PST

Employees' union protests during Azad's visit to hospital

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:52:30 PST

Employees' union protests during Azad's visit to hospital

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:52:30 PST

Employees' union protests during Azad's visit to hospital

Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:52:30 PST

Little Ayesha leaves hospital, can return to Pakistan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:13:55 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Kolkata, March 5 - Ayesha Ahmed, the seven-year-old Pakistani girl from Karachi who underwent a heart bypass surgery here last week, has been discharged from the hospital, her doctor said Friday. She will, however, need to stay here for another month for check-ups.

'Ayesha is doing fine and she was discharged from the hospital Thursday. But she will have to stay in Kolkata for near about one month as she needs to have thorough check-up. After that, she can go back to Pakistan,' said Biswajit Bandopadhyay, the attending surgeon of Rabindranath Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences -.

Ayesha was admitted mid-February at the RTIICS here with an artery blockage and was operated on Feb 22.

The Rotary Club of Calcutta Metropolitan - and the RTIICS have met all cost of the treatment and other expenses jointly.

'We are happy that we could provide Ayesha with new lease of life,' added Bandopadhyay.

Unable to get proper treatment in Karachi hospitals, Ayesha's parents contacted their relatives in India after they came to know about the advanced cardiac treatments available here. Ayesha and her family reached the city last month.

Little Ayesha leaves hospital, can return to Pakistan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:13:55 PST

Little Ayesha leaves hospital, can return to Pakistan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:13:55 PST

Little Ayesha leaves hospital, can return to Pakistan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:13:55 PST

Little Ayesha leaves hospital, can return to Pakistan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:13:55 PST

Little Ayesha leaves hospital, can return to Pakistan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:13:55 PST

Little Ayesha leaves hospital, can return to Pakistan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:13:55 PST

Little Ayesha leaves hospital, can return to Pakistan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:13:55 PST

Little Ayesha leaves hospital, can return to Pakistan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:13:55 PST

Little Ayesha leaves hospital, can return to Pakistan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:13:55 PST

Little Ayesha leaves hospital, can return to Pakistan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:13:55 PST

Little Ayesha leaves hospital, can return to Pakistan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:13:55 PST

Little Ayesha leaves hospital, can return to Pakistan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:13:55 PST

Little Ayesha leaves hospital, can return to Pakistan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:13:55 PST

Little Ayesha leaves hospital, can return to Pakistan

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:13:55 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

( from http://www.rxpgnews.com ) Shillong, March 5 - In order to encourage private investors to set up medical institutes in the northeastern region, the central government Friday announced special concessions for them.

'We have reduced the minimum area requirement for setting up a medical college from 25 to 20 acres,' union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said at the inauguration of the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences -, the first super specialty hospital in Meghalaya and the region.

Conceived by former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi 23 years ago, the medical institute was formally inaugurated by United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had declared NEIGRIMS a national institute Jan 22, 2000, when he visited Shillong.

NEIGRIHMS has been designed in line with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences -, New Delhi, and the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research -, Chandigarh.

'We have also reduced the requisite bed capacity from 300 to 200 while the bed occupancy from 80 percent to 60 percent and number of required laboratories from 14 to 6,' the minister said.

These special concessions, he said, were aimed to encourage private parties to set up more medical colleges in the region.

Azad also announced that a few dozen nursing schools will be established in the next two years and Meghalaya has been identified as one of the states where such nursing schools will be set up.

An amount of Rs.67.5 crore has also been earmarked for the establishment of a herbal institute under the Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy - within the premises of NEIGHRIMS, Azad announced.

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST

Firms to get impetus to set up hospitals in northeast

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:11:13 PST