The Poison Control Centre at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences is a specialised clinical and information unit operating within the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre (AIMS), the tertiary-care teaching hospital of the Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham group, located at Ponekkara, Kochi, in the Indian state of Kerala. The centre functions as a referral facility for the diagnosis, management and information support related to acute and chronic poisoning, including drug overdose, envenomation, agrochemical exposure, household and industrial chemical toxicity.
| Name | Poison Control Centre, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences |
|---|---|
| Type | Hospital-based poison control and clinical toxicology unit |
| Parent institution | Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre (AIMS) |
| Affiliated university | Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
| Location | Ponekkara, Kochi, Kerala, India |
| Field | Clinical toxicology, emergency medicine |
Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences is a multi-speciality teaching hospital established under the Mata Amritanandamayi Math, and is one of the largest tertiary-care centres in Kerala. As part of its emergency medicine and critical care services, the hospital operates a dedicated Poison Control Centre. Such centres are recognised globally as essential public health infrastructure, providing both bedside clinical care for poisoned patients and round-the-clock toxicological information to clinicians, hospitals and the general public.
Kerala records a significant burden of poisoning cases due to factors such as agrochemical use, ready availability of household chemicals, and a high rate of intentional self-poisoning relative to other Indian states. A hospital-integrated poison control centre allows for rapid clinical intervention rather than only telephonic advice, which is the model followed by many standalone information centres. The unit at AIMS contributes to regional capacity in clinical toxicology, an area in which dedicated centres remain limited across India.