ART Centre at SSG Hospital to be operational by month end

The Anti-Retroviral Treatment Centre at the Sir Sayajirao General Hospital is all set to be operational by the end of December.

The Anti-Retroviral Treatment (ART) Centre at the Sir Sayajirao General (SSG) Hospital is all set to be operational by the end of December. Funded by the Gujarat State AIDS Control Society (GSACS), the centre will be the sixth of its kind in the state.

The centre, set up with a grant of Rs 7.5 lakh from the GSACS, aims to provide proper guidance and better treatment to the patients coming from adjoining areas and tribal regions. The treatment and counselling at the centre will be provided free of cost to all patients.

“Patients especially from the tribal belt now are at least not hesitant of admitting that they are HIV positive. But most of the cases are detected at a very late stage, which delays the treatment,” said A T Leuva, dean of the Baroda Medical College.

The centre will have counsellors assisted by doctors of the Skin and Gynaecology departments. They will also provide proper medication to the patients which will be available at the drug dispensary in the centre.

“We will also have a television set outside the centre which will continuously provide information about HIV, its prevention and other related details. This will not just inform people about the disease but will also encourage them to come to the centre,” said Dr M C Parmar, Department of Medicine.

“Though there are many Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTC) at the peripheral regions but ART centre are important for treating the patients,” he added.