The new geriatric ward of SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Oct. 2: A geriatric ward was inaugurated at SCB Medical College and Hospital here yesterday on the occasion of International Day for Older Persons.

This 18-bed ward is the first full-fledged specialised ward for elderly persons in the state.

“A specialised hospital for the elderly has been inaugurated at the SCB Medical College and Hospital which is the first of its kind in the state,” said Dr P.K.B. Patnaik, the state’s nodal officer for non-communicable diseases.

At present, very few centres in the country provide geriatric healthcare. Moreover, geriatric treatment involves complex and specialised training, trained personnel and state-of-the-art equipment.

The central government has launched a new programme for elderly persons’ healthcare with an objective that senior citizens could avail medical facilities at different healthcare centres and medical colleges. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had recently launched the national programme at Nuapada.

Areas such as, Koraput, Malkangiri and Balangir would be included into the programme this year. VSS Medical College and Hospital, Burla, would be the tertiary referral centre for these districts. There are also plans to set up geriatric wards at both VSS and MKCG medical colleges and hospitals in the state.

Two projects — one for prevention of cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases and the other for general healthcare of the elderly — have been included under the non-communicable diseases programme.

All the districts of the state will receive around Rs 4 to 5 crore from the Centre for this purpose, while the state government will bear 20 per cent of the expenses for both the projects.

“The main objective is to ensure all-round health promotion so that all non-communicable diseases can be diagnosed at an early stage. Similarly, awareness programmes at school and village-levels would be conducted to eliminate various risk factors,” said Dr Patnaik.

“We have opened the specialised unit for geriatrics based on the guidelines of the central government,” said D.N. Moharana, superintendent of the SCB Medical College and Hospital.