The Tamil Nadu Health Development Association (TNHDA), an NGO comprising of doctors and health activists for creating health awareness among the people has, in a resolution, demanded that the government should provide healthcare free of cost for all ailments as health is a fundamental right of the people.

The resolution was passed unanimously in a national seminar conducted to mark the 10th Anniversary of TNHDA, in collaboration with the Department of Anthropology of the Madras University. Col Dr G Thiruvasagam, vice chancellor of the University of Madras inaugurated the seminar.

The Association has categorically made it clear that since the people are financing the government by way of tax, it is the duty of the state to provide complete healthcare to a citizen from his/her birth to death. The subject chosen for the national seminar was 'Health is a Basic Right'.

The resolution says that public health and medicine are inseparable, and the state should widen and deepen healthcare measures through its institutions and ensure that people of the state are getting quality care with dignity. It said, in Tamil Nadu, there is a sizeable amount of medical, technical and infrastructural facilities with the state owned healthcare infrastructure and the government should judiciously plan schemes for the welfare of the people and allot sufficient funds without any bar. The government should, at least, expend a minimum of 6 per cent of its GDP for the health of its people.

Later while speaking to Pharmabiz, TNHDA president and former director of Institute of Child Health, Tamil Nadu, Dr C S Rex Sargunam while hailing a set of health schemes being implemented by the state government, said if the government utilizes the facilities of the state run hospitals properly in a planned and systematic manner, cases of OP, IP care and Deliveries can be well-attended in large scale. It will also help reduce the over load in the Medical colleges.

He said the State life saving Insurance Scheme (Kalaignar Kaapittu Thittam), introduced by the present DMK government for the poor people is a good initiative, but it should be implemented by utilizing the government machinery through the government hospitals without the involvement of private hospitals. Now, though the poor people are targeted as beneficiaries, the private hospitals are also benefited a lot.

The Rs 573 crore 'Kalaignar Insurance scheme' for one crore poor people was launched in Tamil Nadu by the Union Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad in July 2009.The scheme envisages giving an insurance cover of Rs one lakh each to families whose annual income is less than Rs 72,000 per annum for life saving treatment. So far the scheme has helped thousands of poor people in the state. One of the major advantages of the scheme is free cardiac surgery for poor people.

According to TNHDA, currently an amount of Rs 573 crore is going every year to the private hospitals. If the scheme is implemented through government hospitals, it can help the entire population of the state and the facilities of the hospitals can be utilized. Further, the conditions of the government hospitals will also improve.

In Tamil Nadu, there are 1539 Public Health Centres, 385 Community Health Centres, 276 Taluk Head Quarter Hospitals, 31 District Hospitals and 15 Medical Colleges in the government sector. Besides, the eight Municipal Corporations own more than 500 hospitals. As a next step of development, now the government plans to establish each medical college in each district. Dr Rex said the government should consider utilizing the infrastructure of these hospitals while planning health schemes. The government should not deviate from its responsibility to provide healthcare to all ailments of the people as healthcare projects are public schemes like water supply, sanitation, environment and nutrition.

Dr M A Kalam, head of Department of Anthropology, University of Madras, Dr VR Muraleedharan, head of Department of Humanities, IIT Madras and Dr CV Krishnaswami, president of VHS Tamil Nadu spoke.