Overview

The department of Paediatrics was started in our institute in the year March 2008, approved for training MBBS, with outpatient department and paediatric ward. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) were started in the year 2009.

PICU has 6 beds with all ultra modern facilities even to support advanced critical care. With only 6 beds in the beginning, now our NICU has improved to Level 3 with twenty one beds and is currently operating autonomously. We guide UG, PG, Allied Health Sciences, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Occupational therapy and PhD students.

Our faculties are involved in various research projects and publish esteemed papers regularly in national and international journals. The department conducts regular CMEs, conferences, exhibitions and guest lectures to enrich knowledge of the students. We constantly participate in CMEs, conferences and workshops in other colleges and present papers to showcase our undergraduates and postgraduates knowledge.

Facilities

Outpatient Services

Our Outpatient department is managed by the head of the admitting unit, assisted by Associate and assistant professors, senior residents, postgraduates and house-surgeons. On an average, we cater to around 250 pediatric outpatients. We have four units with five faculties, four postgraduates and two house-surgeons in each unit running the outpatient services 24/7.

Specialty Clinics

We have Specialty clinics for high risk newborn, asthma, cardiology, neurology, hematology and gastroenterology on specific days between 2 pm and 4 pm in OPD. Immunization clinic is conducted on all days except Sundays.

Inpatient Services

Children are admitted to the Pediatric ward either from Pediatric OPD or Emergency Room. Once they are received in the ward, they are treated by highly qualified and experienced pediatricians and pediatric nurses in a child friendly compassionate manner.

The general ward exclusively for children has 120 beds, 4 procedure rooms, isolation room, nurse counters, rooms for duty doctors, wash area and toilets.  There is a separate play area with play materials for children.  A television is also provided with children’s programmes.  

We provide teaching classes for undergraduates, postgraduates and allied health sciences

Child Development Centre Services

The Child Development Center was inaugurated on 5/2/2018 by honorable chancellor Dr. N. Veeraiyan in the presence of Dr.Saveetha Rajesh & Dr.Rajesh.

This centre has been primarily developed by department of Paediatrics to address the special needs of children with cerebral palsy, autism, neuromuscular disorders and genetic syndromes in a holistic way by integrating different therapeutics. We provide speech therapy, occupational therapy, neurodevelopment and physiotherapy in addition to supporting learning and psychological issues. The services are delivered by a full-fledged team of dedicated faculty in an integrated manner. All high risk newborns born in SMCH are screened for thyroid profiles and serially monitored for developmental problems. If any delay is observed they are immediately sent to SCDC for detailed developmental assessment and follow-up. If needed, therapy services, investigations and drugs are ordered from CDC. We provide free services for the developmentally abnormal children including free vaccination services.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), with bed strength of 20, is fully equipped with Warmers, Multi-channel monitors, Continues Positive Airway Pressure units, Phototherapy units, Milk bank. We also have enough Mechanical Ventilators to take care of extremely sick children. Procedures are done as in any other tertiary care hospital, which includes Surfactant administration for Preterm babies, Exchange transfusion for severe hyperbilirubinemia; neonatal surgical cases are also being managed in our neonatal intensive care. All these services are provided free of cost under Muthaiyammal scheme.

Paediatric Intensive Care Unit

State-of-the-art Paediatric Intensive Care Unit with trained intensivist and intensive care trained nurses to provide round the clock care to critically ill children is available. We also have retrieval services to transport critically ill / injured children to our PICU.

School Health Services

School health camps are organized by need basis in the schools in and around SMCH where we screen, identify and treat any underlying health problems.

Outreach services

Weekly camps in rural/ urban health centers like Mappedu and Thirumazhisai.

We participate in Government conducted camps during floods, cyclone and also at ICDS centres. We have an MoU with Sankalp and Nambikkai Illam - the NGOs orphanage charitable trust.

Research activities

We have seventy publications in esteemed journals, five patents and four books released (Saveetha’s textbook of Pediatrics, Childhood Neurodegenerative disorders, Saveetha’s handbook of school readiness and Manual of Pediatric Allergy) from Department of Paediatrics.