Christian Medical College Hospital, Vellore

The Founder of the Hospital, Dr Ida Scudder's dream to wipe out maternity deaths paved the way for a single bed dispensary in 1900. Today, this century-old teaching Hospital has 1800 beds in the main premises and 2280 beds in all. Vellore based Christian Medical College Hospital (CMC) serves about 4500 patients daily in the OPD alone. A pioneer in several healthcare services, including the first successful open heart surgery in India, CMC is an icon of Vellore.

Significant Achievements in the last year

The Hospital performs the maximum number (over 100) of bone marrow transplantations in the country. As a pioneer in live liver transplantation, it has conducted 20 such transplantations so far. The Hospital runs 50 telemedicine centres throughout the country with four recently opened centres in Assam. Department of cosmetology, pediatric dialysis, pediatric transplantation, pediatric orthopedics and malignant care centres were also opened last year.

Biggest Challenges

Rising inflow of accident victims in recent years is a concern for the Hospital. Due to Floor Space Index (FSI) norms, the Hospital is facing space constraints, especially in critical care. "It would be great if the FSI norms are relaxed so that we can serve better," says Dr Lionel Gnanaraj, Medical Superintendent and Consultant Urologist, CMC.

Adopting New Technology

All investigations are available online, thanks to Hospital Information System. All doctors are provided with a computer in the OPD and the patient details can be viewed in no time. The Hospital plans to use internal cash cards, through which all transactions are recorded and the patient can settle the bill at the time of discharge. "The Hospital aims to go completely paperless and cashless in the next two years," says Dr Gnanaraj.

Patient Friendliness

The doctors stay inside the campus and are available round-the-clock for patient service. The Hospital has established quality cell that gathers feedback from patients, addresses their queries and reviews them every week.

CSR

The Hospital has adopted 26 villages around Vellore and provides regular and free health check ups to the villagers. The health details of these villagers are maintained through Patient Data System (PDS) and are given free treatment in the main Hospital. It also conducts regular free medical camps in rural areas. It provides free expertise and technical guidance free of cost to the rural hospitals associated with CMC.