At a UN medical conclave in New York recently, the Makkalai Thedi (in search of people) scheme of providing free healthcare services including medicines to senior citizens and those living in remote areas in Tamil Nadu was appreciated by the global body, said Ma Subramanian, health minister, while addressing the medical fraternity and Rotarians at the Doctors’ Day event hosted by RID 3234. A UN Inter-Agency Task Force in its latest report lauded the state government for “this pioneering initiative with a bold vision of making medical services accessible to all,” he said.
Launched by TN chief minister M K Stalin in August 2021 with the aim to tackling five major non-communicable diseases (BP, diabetes, thyroid, etc), “already 2.28 crore people have benefitted from the Makkalai Thedi scheme,” the minister said. The CM’s Health Insurance Scheme and other innovative medical schemes have “made TN number one in the country in providing free, efficient and quality healthcare to all. Whether it is organ donation, transplantation, or heart care through regular check-ups, we rank top in the country.”
Another scheme, Innuyir Kaapom (saving lives) provides free medical treatment to road accident victims if they are admitted to enlisted hospitals within 48 hours of the incident. “Nearly four lakh people have benefitted from this medical scheme,” he said. The Chennai Corporation has entered into the Limca Book of Records for holding 155 health camps that screened 64,000 people on a single day with the support of NGOs like Rotary and Lions clubs and private hospitals in 2006, recalled the minister.
Since 1991, India is celebrating July 1 as Doctors’ Day to mark the birth anniversary of Dr B C Roy, former chief minister of West Bengal and a pioneer of public healthcare, said the Minister. Recalling the exceptional service of doctors and the medical fraternity during the Covid pandemic, he praised Rotary for honouring “eight renowned doctors, two government and two not-for-profit hospitals.”
Recalling his long relationship with Dr H V Hande, the 97-year-old endoscopic surgeon and former TN health minister, Subramanian said, “I was treated by his son Dr Krishna Hande at their hospital for a serious illness in early 1990s.” CM Stalin relied on the support of Dr V S Natarajan, geriatric physician and an awardee, while setting up a mega hospital — National Centre of Ageing and Hospital — for senior citizens in Saidapet.
Hub of medical tourism
Tamil Nadu gets 25 per cent of medical tourists visiting India for affordable healthcare from all over the world, thus attracting over 15 lakh foreign patients each year, said Subramanian, and noted that Rotary clubs spend around ₹20 crore in medical projects and services in Chennai each year.
DG Vinod Saraogi said from free health camps across the underserved regions that included regular check-up, basic treatment and essential vaccination to mobile mammography units, which screen women in remote areas, Rotary clubs have made healthcare accessible to all people. Paediatric surgeries have given children a new lease of life, laparoscopic procedures have led to faster recovery among underprivileged patients, and general health and dental check-up across government schools in Tamil Nadu have provided early intervention where it matters, he said.
“Rotary clubs have taken up large-scale campaigns to vaccinate girls in schools, protecting them from cervical cancer. Through the PolioPlus campaign, we have led the charge in global immunisation efforts, not just in eliminating the disease but also helping rehabilitate the survivors with dignity and care,” he said.
Through sanitation and hygiene projects, “we have built toilets in villages, equipped girls’ schools with facilities for menstrual hygiene, and ensured the supply of sanitary pads and health education, thus preserving their dignity while promoting wellness.” Health education remains a cornerstone of Rotary clubs’ outreach, improving awareness on hygiene, nutrition, and disease prevention, the DG added.
Rotary’s Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to eight doctors —
H V Hande, former health minister; Pratap C Reddy, founder-chairman, Apollo Hospitals; Devi Prasad Shetty, founder-chairman, Narayana Health; Mohamed Rela, chairman-director, Dr Rela Hospital; C Palanivelu of Gem Hospitals; Mayil Vahanan Natarajan, orthopaedic oncologist; V S Natarajan, geriatric physician; and
K R Balakrishnan, heart and lung specialist. They were given citations and award shields.
Likewise, the Institutional Excellence Awards were given to the Madras Medical College Hospital; Stanley Medical College Hospital; Sankara Nethralaya; and Kanchi Kamakoti Childs Trust Hospital.
In his acceptance speech, Dr Hande said, “we should make full use of opportunities that come our way. When I was made health minister by the then CM M G Ramachandran, who gave me full freedom to take decisions and follow through, I found there were lot of patients at the leprosy homes across the state in the early 1980s.”
After deliberations with DEOs, DHOs and district collectors, and having studied the root problem, he set up a pilot multidrug regimen facility for leprosy treatment in Oragadam, near Chennai.
Within few months all the leprosy homes were empty as “the new treatment procedure was a huge success. Also, when I became minister there were just 2,000 PHCs and their subsections in TN. However, the number rose to over 8,000 centres when I demitted office,” recalled Hande who was also given the Rotary Polio Champion Award by DG Saraogi. PDG Abirami Ramanathan addressed the meet. Around 400 Rotarians and 400 Rotaractors from RID 3234 participated.
Pictures by Muthukumaran