Tata Main Hospital organizes thyroid camp & starts new testing equipment in nuclear medicine deptt

INDIACSR

JAMSHEDPUR: The Nuclear Medicine department of the Tata Main Hospital (TMH), Jamshedpur is one of the finest facilities in the state of Jharkhand as well as in Eastern India. The facility was inaugurated by Mr J R D Tata in 1992 and the erstwhile Medical Research Centre was merged with it in 2004.

It has been providing service to the clinical departments of TMH as well as to various other hospitals in Jamshedpur and outside with a wide range of investigations like myocardial perfusion scans, renal, bone and thyroid scans, blood tests for hormones, various viral diseases, tumor markers etc.

On 10 July 2011, TMH organized a thyroid screening camp at its Out Patient Department (OPD) where around 137 people (including selected employees of the All India Women’s Conference – AIWC – selected through a preliminary screening camp conducted by TMH on 8th July 2011 at the Kalyan Niketan) underwent a free thyroid blood test and were provided clinical consultation.

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Ms. Surekha Nerurkar was the Chief Guest, inaugurated the camp with lighting the lamp.

Dr S Mahapatra in his welcome address explain, how it occurs in human body . Dr T.P.Madhusuadan (General Manager – Medical Services) thank the Tata Steel management for procurement of new Chemilumenescence Automated Blood Test machine.

Ms Surekha Nerurkar in her speech said maximum people should be aware of this facility and take benefit out of it and thank Dr Sujata and her team, Among the dignitaries Mrs S.Sen, Mrs Sengupta, Mrs Mishra, Mrs Madhusudan, Mrs Mahapatro, Dr Dasgupta were present and  various personnel from the staff of TMH. The participants in the camp were educated on thyroid related issues and how to deal with them through informational brochures as well as by the screening of a film.

The new automated chemilumescence processor inaugurated at Tata Main Hospital by Mrs Surekha Nerurkar will touch many lives.

Patients suspected of hormone disorders (related to thyroid, fertility, Diabetes) have to wait for 3-4 days before the blood test reports are available to them. For most patients, this is an inconvenience since it means a a delayed return visit to his treating doctor, a delayed diagnosis and therefore, in treatment that would relieve their symptoms.

Another set of patients that have to bear with a delay in report  are the cancer patients, who need to do certain blood tests called tumor markers that will tell the doctor the presence of a recurrence.

Though these tests were available in Jamshedpur, there was an unacceptable waiting time, and in some cases, the samples were sent outside the city for testing.

The new machine will allow the nuclear Medicine Department of Tata Main Hospital to report all hormone tests, tumor markers, drug levels within 48 hours.

The patient can therefore look forward to an early diagnosis and alleviation of symptoms.

Interestingly, TMH was one of the earliest centres in Eastern India to make hormone testing available. This service has been available to Tata Steel employees, the community at Jamshedpur and the rest of the region since 1989. The Thyroid Clinic at TMH caters to around 600 patients a month and is held twice a week since 1993. Over the years, the requirement for thyroid testing has increased showing the growing prevalence of thyroid disorders. Camps such as this one help in detection and treatment of this problem which a large proportion of people may be simply unaware of.

Until now, TMH had a lead time of around 3 – 4 days for a test report to become available. However, with the rapid advancement in medical technology, TMH has felt the need to have more reliable equipment which can also expedite the testing time. The new machine inaugurated at TMH allows this lead time to be reduced to 24 hours.

With such initiatives, the Tata Main Hospital strives to renew its commitment to the health of Tata Steel’s employees and their families as well as the community at large thus fulfilling one of the guiding principles of Tata Steel’s Founder Mr. Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata.