Chief Minister M.K. Stalin flagged off 188 new ambulances in a function at Chitlapakkam in Chengalpattu district on Wednesday.
He also distributed the medical kit to the 50 th lakh beneficiary of the ‘ Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam’ scheme and also witnessed the physiotherapy treatment given to the patient under the scheme.
An official release said the 108 ambulance service was launched in 2008 during then Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s tenure, and a total of 1,303 ambulances are in service presently. Of the 188 new ambulances, four would be earmarked for service to people in hilly areas in Udhagamandalam, Valparai, Arasur (Pollachi) and Mottampatti (Kallakurichi).
Under the ‘ Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam’ scheme, a total of 10,969 field-level women health volunteers, 385 physiotherapists, 385 palliative nurses and 4,848 mid-level health providers are in service. In addition, over 2,400 nurses from government health centres are also offering their service under this scheme. A flagship program of Tamil Nadu government, it aims to offer a holistic and comprehensive set of home-based healthcare services to ensure continuum of care, sustainability of services and also meet the health needs of beneficiaries in the family as a whole. A field-level team would render healthcare services, including delivery of hypertension/diabetes mellitus drugs, palliative care, physiotherapy and referral for essential services, to line-listed beneficiaries.
The Chief Minister also interacted with beneficiaries of ‘ Innuyir Kappom - Nammai Kakkum 48’ scheme, which is aimed at preventing loss of lives due to road accidents by the government bearing the cost for critical care during the first 48 hours after an accident.
Minister for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises T.M. Anbarasan, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian, Chennai South MP Thamizachi Thangapandian, legislators S. Arvind Ramesh, S.R. Raja, I. Karunanithi, S.S. Balaji, Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan, OSD in Health Department P. Senthil Kumar, National Health Mission director Darez Ahamed, Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project Director S. Uma, Chengalpattu Collector A.R. Rahul Nadh and senior officials were present.
