Tambaram Sanatorium

Tambaram Sanatorium is a railway station on the Chennai Beach - Tambaram section of the Chennai suburban railway. It was originally a part of Tambaram, but later developed as a separate town due to the railway station and the TB Sanatorium located there.

Historical background

Dr. Muthu returned from the UK with an English training in tuberculosis and an English wife, during the 1920s to Chennai (then known as Madras). Modelled on Mendip Hills Sanatorium of England (U.K), he built up a Tuberculosis Sanatorium on the Pachaimalai (green hillock) at Tambaram with 12 beds. The foundations was laid on 9.4.1928.

The TB Sanatorium grew steadily with the addition of Operation theatre, X-ray block, laboratory and more wards. However, there was a brief interruption in the growth of the hospital during the World War II.

In 1947 immediately after Independence from the British, Dr. Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Minister of Health, the Government of India, blessed the creation of a 17.14 acre Rehabilitation colony, which has provision for 120 fully cured tuberculosis patients learning printing, tailoring, book binding and rattan chair making. The last increment of wards for patients was done in 1976 and the total bed strength swelled to 776.

‘Tambaram TB Sanatorium’ acquired fame, attracting patients from neighbouring states of India. Patients from Sri Lanka , Burma and Malaysia started seeking medical aid from the famous centre. The Government duly recognised the importance of TB sanctuary and sanctioned the creation of a separate Railway station on the suburban Electric Train system called “Tambaram Sanatorium” and also a separate postal division of “Tambaram Sanatorium” (PIN-600047).

Tambaram TB Centre was the participatory Sanatorium in the famous “Madras study” to assess the efficacy of Home Vs Sanatorium treatment for tuberculosis. The study was conducted by the Madras Chemotherapy Centre (now TB Research Centre, Chennai).

The authorities felt that tuberculosis was on the decline in the early 1980s on account of Short Course Chemotherapy with miracle drugs and changed the name of the institution to Govt. Hospital of TB and Chest Diseases, which was subsequently rechristened as Govt. Hospital of Thoracic Medicine in the late 80s.

GHTM-TAMBARAM: milestones

A 12-bedded private TB sanatorium was established in 1928

Govt. of Madras (Tamilnadu) took over the Hospital in 1935

Bed Strength was enhanced to 776 in 1976

Rechristened as Government Hospital of Thoracic Medicine in 1986

1993 witnessed hospitalization of two HIV patients

Tamilnadu - CDC Collaborative Project was formalized in 2002

The most notable conversion of the hospital to the HIV care and training centre was found to happen in 1993 with the admission of 2 HIV with tuberculosis patients. Gradually their number grew and it became essential to train the medical officers, paramedical workers and supporting staff in HIV disease diagnosis, care and management at Tambaram. The medical officers and other staff overcome their hesitation and fear and began to develop an interest in HIV disease and care. The Government of Tamilnadu selected this hospital for research into the use and role of the ancient indigenous system of medicare called the ‘Siddha system’. The continued research showed that three effective Siddha drugs, Rasagandhi Mezhugu, Amukkara Chooranam and Nellikkai Lehyam, were found to have immuno-restorative properties in HIV patients. They are being used as staple drugs for all HIV patients attending Tambaram Centre.

Govt. Hospital of Thoracic Medicine, with a sanctioned 776-bed strength and 120 bedded Rehabilitation centre, caters to the needs of just over one thousand in-patients in 31 wards. Another one thousand patients visits our out-patient departments (Main OP and HIV OP) daily. However, the medical staff has remained static in strength since 1980s. There are 21 medical officers including the Superintendent, Deputy Superintendent and the Resident Medical Officer. There are 122 Nurses and their supervisors to look after the needs of the patients. 17technical staff and 46 paramedical workers are involved in the back up services in the laboratory, radiology, electrical and maintenance departments. There are 251 sanctioned last grade servants’ posts (57 vacancies) to provide clean and hygienic environment in the hospital. 45 ministerial staff is backing the administration.

Govt. Hospital of Thoracic Medicine is the largest AIDS care centre in India with around 300 HIV patients visiting the separate HIV OP department daily and over 300 patients taking in-patient treatment in 8 exclusive HIV wards. There are 5 wards meant for male HIV patients and 2 for female HIV patients. There is an increasing number of admission of HIV children in the Paediatric ward. This hospital is equipped to deal with every type of HIV disease and is poised to provide high level of care and support to all chest diseases.

The Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TNSACS) and the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) extended their helping hand generously in supplying HIV screening equipments (ELISA readers, FACS counter) and ELISA kits, in providing the drugs for treating opportunistic infections in HIV patients, in helping to provide supplementary nutrition with a separate dietitian, in arranging various training programs for Medical officers, paramedical workers and counselors and in establishing a Voluntary Counseling and Testing Centre (VCTC). In the year 1997, the first batch of Physicians Responsible for AIDS Management (PRAM) got trained here. This was a Hands-on training for 21 days and subsequently several other training programs were arranged. This is a well recognized centre for training of Health Care workers in the management of HIV / AIDS patients

The Ramanjenaya temple in Tambaram Sanatorium on the GST road attracts a large number of devotees.It is about 60 years old. The Ramanjaneya temple along with Sri Vaithyanathaswamy temple are maintained by Sri Ramanjaneya Trust (Regd).