Tamil Nadu’s rural healthcare system is good and there is no chance of privatising government district hospitals in the State, Health Minister C. Vijayabaskar said on Friday.
Replying to a question on NITI Aayog’s decision to link private medical colleges with functional government district hospitals through Public Private Partnership model, he said the State government was yet to look into it. “But there is no chance of privatisation in our State,” he told reporters during the sidelines of an event to launch the Apollo Institute of Spine Surgery and spine surgery robot.
A “challenge” has emerged in Tamil Nadu’s plan to add four more new government medical colleges in Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Kallakurichi and Kancheepuram. While the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Technical Evaluation Committee has given the nod for the four colleges, the State is waiting for the final decision of the Empowered Committee, the Minister said.
The State, last year, got the nod for establishing nine new medical colleges with 60% funding from the Centre and 40% funding from the State. Though the Minister did not divulge details on what the challenge was, he listed out criterion that should be fulfilled in order to get the final nod.
The Minister said that the tendering process for the nine new medical colleges was completed, and the Chief Minister would lay the foundation stones soon.
The government is also installing 10 linear accelerators for cancer treatment at State hospitals at a cost of ₹24 crore each. “The Chief Minister is launching the facility at Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital in Omandurar and Government Royapettah Hospital on January 28. The equipment will be installed in the remaining places in a phased manner,” he said.
The Chief Minister will also inaugurate Tower-3, a block for outpatient departments that has come up at a cost of ₹100 crore, at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital next month. Along with it, a new block for rheumatology, a linear accelerator and PET would also be inaugurated, he added.
