Minister outlines govt.’s three priority areas in health sector

Health Minister K.G. Arunraj outlined the Tamil Nadu government’s three priority areas at the 19th National Health Assembly in Thailand.

“The Universal Health Coverage is a promise that every person, whoever they are and wherever they live, can receive good care, with dignity and without fear of the bill,” the Minister said.

A recent national survey found that about half of all outpatient consultations in Tamil Nadu took place in government facilities. “It means that half of our people still go elsewhere, many of them paying heavily from their own pockets. Our aim is to earn the trust of that other half,” he said.

Dr. Arunraj added that their hope was that, whether at a government hospital or a primary health centre, daily-wage workers and business owners would sit in the same waiting room and both feel equally well cared for.

The Minister elaborated on the three priorities – access, quality, and care for the underprivileged. The government is introducing Nalam 360, an annual free health check, with 14 essential tests for every citizen aged 30 and above, at more than 1,250 public facilities, he said.

“For the first time, all citizens aged 70 and above – about 3.8 million people – will receive cashless treatment under a Chief Minister’s Elderly Health Insurance Scheme, with no income ceiling,” he said.

He noted that in cities, mid-level health providers were being added to urban wellness centres and specialist clinics were being run in the morning and evening hours so that working people would not have to lose a day’s wages to see a doctor.

To improve quality of care, Dr. Arunraj said, “Every government hospital will have a simple QR-code feedback system, with responses analysed promptly so that the problems are fixed rather than filed. We are improving the everyday experience – clear signage, clean toilets, decent waiting areas and help desks – beginning with 10 major hospitals.”

He added that through a Care Coordination Scheme, patients will be able to book appointments through a WhatsApp service, and be referred up and back down the system with continuity, rather than being left to find their own way.

The Minister said that universal does not mean uniform. “People at the margins need us: tribal families in hill villages, where we are posting nurses directly; migrant and informal workers in cities and industrial areas; elderly and persons with disabilities, for whom we will begin home-based sample collection in cities; and transgender persons, for whom twelve medical college hospitals run dedicated multi-speciality clinics.”