TN launches scheme to take healthcare to people’s doorsteps

The first phase of the scheme will benefit 1 crore people in 30 lakh households

In a first in the country, Tamil Nadu on Thursday embarked on an ambitious journey to provide healthcare services, including home-based palliative cum geriatric care, to people at their doorsteps.

Known as Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam (Healthcare at the Doorstep), the scheme will cover 1,172 health sub-centres, 189 Public Health Centres (PHC), in 50 Community Health Centres, and in one zone each in Chennai, Coimbatore, and Tirunelveli in the first phase.

The first phase of the scheme, which will benefit 1 crore people in 30 lakh households, was launched by Chief Minister M K Stalin at Samanapalli, a remote village, in Krishnagiri district on Thursday morning. Stalin also visited a house along with healthcare workers who screened the residents as part of the project.

The scheme to be implemented at a cost of Rs 257 crore will be expanded to the rest of the state by the end of 2021. The financial and logistical needs of the scheme will be met by utilizing the funds approved for respective programs under the National Health Mission – Tamil Nadu with additional support from Tamil Nadu Health System Reforms Program (TNHSRP).

A field team comprising of Women Health Volunteers, ASHAs in tribal areas, mid-level health providers, village health nurses, health inspectors and physiotherapists will be deployed to provide home-based health services which will be expanded based on the needs of the community.

Projecting the scheme as a “gamechanger”, the government has roped in popular film actor Sivakarthikeyan for the short films on the ambitious project.

The scheme envisages Population-Based Screening of those aged above 18 years covering 10 common conditions like hypertension, diabetes, oral cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, TB, and leprosy, while the volunteers will also motivate women for cancer screenings.

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The focus would be on reducing the mortality rate due to non-communicable diseases by half, officials said, adding that the teams would deliver medicines to the needy at their homes without the beneficiaries having to come and collect at an outlet.

Dr Amalorpavanathan Joseph, the man behind Tamil Nadu’s robust organ donation system, termed the scheme as “revolutionary” which could bring massive changes in the public healthcare system. “The government has provided necessary funds for the scheme which includes providing dialysis kits to the needy. This is a very good scheme, and the government should consider developing an exclusive team for the purpose. We cannot depend on volunteers for long,” he told DH.

An official explained that palliative care staff nurses will also deliver peritoneal dialysis bags to patients under Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) and guide them and monitor the home-based dialysis therapy.

The government is also hiring outreach vehicles at the block level and will ensure mobility support for transporting drugs from PHC to the home-based health services level.

The scheme also envisages providing home-based palliative care services by staff nurses for patients with chronic debilitating illnesses who have difficulty in visiting health facilities, while physiotherapy facilities for elderly and home-bound patients will also be provided.