Chennai: Health minister Dr C. Vijayabaskar made a record of sorts by making 108 announcements in the Assembly on Thursday, syncing with the government’s 108 emergency ambulance service.

Just as the minister wound up his long speech around half past 3 pm and geared up to make the announcements, Speaker P. Dhanapal appealed to him to complete it soon as all the MLAs, who have booked their tickets to visit their districts for the long week-end are waiting for him to complete his reply to the debate on the demand for grants for his department.





Responding, Dr Vijayabaskar said, “if you permit me, I shall read all the 108 announcements just like the 108 ambulance that whizzes by (to reach the patients to the hospital).” And so saying he read out all the 108 announcements at rapid-fire speed, as he had assured.

Following this, Mr Dhanapal commended him. The Treasury Benches too responded by thumping the tables.

STEMI care: A unique system for treating heart attacks would be established at 12 government medical college hospitals which will serve as hub and 120 hospitals would be networked to function as spokes. They would all provide emergency medicare to patients suffering from cardiac arrest.

This facility will be extended at a cost of `9.2 crore, Dr Vijayabaskar said.

Unlike the western model of STEMI care which attempts to transport all patients with heart attacks to a major hospital for cardiac catheterisation and primary PCI, the STEMI India Protocol combines Primary PCI and Pharmaco-invasive strategies to ensure patients in rural areas and small towns access state-of-the-art heart attack treatment.

Establishing Multi Disciplinary Critical Care Units at Tiruppur, Ramanathapuram, Tenkasi and Pollachi government headquarters hospitals besides Pudukottai Government Medical College Hospital, at a cost of `2.67 crore and stem cell research at Government Stanley Hospital, here, for `4.3 crore were among the announcements.