JOIN USDMK govt shuts Amma Mini Clinics; doctors to treat Covid-19 patients
Amma Mini Clinics, which were launched by the previous AIADMK government to provide free health consultation, have been shut with immediate effect by the DMK dispensation which has blamed “lack of substantial performance” for its decision.
While the clinics, which functioned mostly in urban areas, have been closed, over 1,800 doctors who were recruited to work at these centres have been absorbed for treating Covid-19 patients in hospitals across the state.
“Amma Mini Clinics have been closed. The clinics were a temporary arrangement from their launch in 2020. Only doctors were appointed for such clinics, and they (AIADMK govt) did not even appoint nurses for these clinics. These clinics mostly functioned from temporary accommodation,” Health Minister Ma. Subramanian said on Tuesday.
He said the services of 1,820 doctors who were appointed by the previous government to provide consultation to people at 1,950 Amma Mini Clinics have been extended till March 31, 2022. Subramanian also said the government will take steps to utilise the services of these doctors in the health care sector even after the expiry of their contracts.
The AIADMK government had in 2020 launched the scheme, months before the Assembly elections, to provide free health consultation to people belonging to poor and marginalised sections. The aim of these clinics was to reduce the burden on overcrowded hospitals and to ensure that people living in slums access healthcare just by a walk or by commuting by cycle.
A Government Order (GO) signed by Principal Secretary (Health) J Radhakrishnan said the Amma Mini Clinics have not “reached a substantial level of performance.”
It is said the government felt there was no need for the clinics with new schemes announced by the M K Stalin-led government like Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam (Healthcare at the doorstep) and Varumun Kaapom Thittam (preventive healthcare scheme) that allows people to access healthcare easily than ever.
The announcement by the DMK triggered a sharp reaction from the AIADMK with former Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami who termed the move as a political vendetta.
“Amma Mini Clinics were launched to help poor people in urban and rural areas to access health care near their habitation site. The DMK government has closed these mini-clinics solely because they were named after Amma (J Jayalalithaa). This shows that the DMK government is not concerned about the well-being of the poor,” Palaniswami said.
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