Jayalalithaa, In Hospital For 2 Months, Shifted To Special Room From ICU

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who has been in hospital for nearly two months, was today shifted from the Intensive Care Unit or ICU to a special room.

"Jayalalithaa shifted to a special room at Apollo Hospitals. The special room has larger space to even meet people," her party AIADMK's spokesperson C Ponnaiyan said.

A source in Apollo Hospital added, "It's a high dependency room with all medical requirements."

Yesterday, the chairman of Apollo Hospitals Dr Prathap C Reddy had said Ms Jayalalithaa, 68, is now put on ventilator support for only 15 minutes a day "so that her lungs would expand," and reiterated that she can be discharged any time she chooses.

Ms Jayalalithaa was admitted at the Chennai Apollo Hospital on September 22 and was treated for an acute lung infection.

On her fitness to resume her responsibilities as Chief Minister, Dr Reddy had said "some more systems of her body have to be pepped up," but M Jayalalithaa, 68, can now guide and give directions. He said her "mental functions are absolutely normal."

From her hospital bed last week, the chief minister had in a statement described her recovery as a "rebirth" which she said she owed to the prayers of the people.

Addressed to workers of her party the AIADMK and the people of the state, Ms Jayalalithaa's statement, her first since she was hospitalised, said she is "waiting to fully recover and resume work soon".

A specialist from London flew in frequently as did a team of three doctors from Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences or AIIMS to treat Ms Jayalalithaa, besides a team of doctors from Apollo Hospitals.

While she has been in hospital, Ms Jayalalithaa's trusted aide and Finance Minister O Panneerselvam has held charge of the eight ministries she personally supervised and has headed cabinet meetings.