Government to set up National Centre for Ageing at AIIMS & Madras Medical College

Focused on providing quality medical care to the ageing, the Union Health Ministry is planning to set up two highly specialised 'National Centre for Ageing' at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi and at Madras Medical College in Chennai.

Targeting to fulfill the needs of elderly population of India, 12 regional geriatric centres would also be established in medical colleges across the country, in addition to the existing eight, said a senior Health Ministry official.

Reportedly, these National Centre for Ageing will be specialised centres of excellence for geriatric care and would develop manuals for home care, provide training to the specialists and formulate protocols in areas of elderly care.

"A need was felt for setting up these centres as there is no specialisation in geriatric medicines (available in the country). These institutes will also involve in developing enhanced evidence of elderly through research in geriatrics and gerontology," said the ministry official.

The two centres would have 200 beds and also have 15 seats for post-graduate course in geriatric medicine.

"The objective is to upscale the health-care activities at tertiary level so that specialised health-care can be given to the elderly as they suffer from higher prevalence of disease burden including multiple chronic disease with disability and other mental health problems," the official added.

The project is estimated to cost around Rs 477.49 crore, and the Health Ministry has written a letter to the Finance Minister, seeking his financial support for the project, informed the official.