Envisaging a complete health revolution in the state, the Tamil Nadu Health Development Association (TNHDA) has in a memorandum to the Chief Minister urged that measures should be taken to avoid the maladies affecting the public health and sanitation services must be stepped up in government hospitals, especially in the Medical Colleges and district HQ hospitals.


The Association has welcomed the decision of the state government to house a multi-super speciality hospital-cum-medical college in the new secretariat complex on the Omandurar Government Estate. The secretariat complex was constructed by the previous government spending Rs.1092 crore. But the present government has dropped the plan of establishing offices in the new building raising alleged irregularities in the construction.


Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa told the assembly that facilities in the proposed hospital would be similar to those at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. Giving support to the government decision, Dr Rex Sargunam, president of TNHDA, said the initiative of the government has to be hailed as it has adequate facilities for a medical college. He said since the complex is located near to the railway station, it will benefit the public in a large scale.


In the memorandum, the association said instead of outsourcing health workers from other agencies, the employees in the public health and Social Preventive Medicine (SPM) departments should be involved for the new facility through which the total public health system in the state could be revamped. There should be a separate department to control and monitor the health and sanitation work of the hospital and such agencies should be appointed in the MCs and GHs in other parts of the state to look after sanitation work.


Referring to the association’s decisions, Dr Rex said controlling measures are needed in every hospital with regard to viral diseases like dengue, chikungunya, swine flu etc. The health insurance scheme should be introduced through government hospitals by upgrading their situations and private hospitals be kept apart from its purview.


He said the Association has passed a resolution that government should take steps to increase awareness among common people in the rural areas and those in the cities not to resort to unsanitary form of open defecation. He said for creating a hygiene environment and atmosphere, every house in the state should have a toilet. TNHDA is ready to submit the master plan to the government in this regard, Dr Rex told Pharmabiz.


The association has passed another resolution that the state government, under the initiative of the Chief Minister, should intervene into the cases of two public sector vaccine manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu since it is a case affecting the people of the state. Near about four years, the two units are not manufacturing any vaccine, whereas CRI in Kasauli has been producing vaccines from the day its suspension was revoked.