CHENNAI : Dr S Geethalakshmi, Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University, on Tuesday urged private healthcare providers to work in a more dedicated manner to provide affordable medical facilities to the poor to bridge the disparity available in the health care sector in the state.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the 11th edition of TANCARE, a conference organised by FICCI and Tamil Nadu government in association with The New Indian Express to discuss the key issues faced by the healthcare industry, Geethalakshmi expressed concern over the fact that the underprivileged sections in the State are yet to get appropriate healthcare facilities from the non-government hospitals.
“There are specific guidelines for private hospitals to provide free treatment to certain percentage of the poor and needy persons at the outdoor and indoor facility. But in reality how many hospitals follow and implement it is a worrying question. We need to have a proper regulatory system through which such schemes can be implemented properly in the state,” said Geethalakshmi.
“Along with looking at the profits, the private hospitals should also concentrate on the ethical values of the profession. I would also urge the non-government hospitals to venture into remote areas to provide quality healthcare to the needy,” she added.Delivering the welcome address, chairman of FICCI TNSC, Ar Rm Arun urged the Tamil Nadu government to focus on manufacturing medical devices in the state as it would boost the healthcare industry and immensely benefit the patients also.
Dr V Balaji, convener of the healthcare panel of the FICCI TNSC and senior consultant vascular surgeon, Apollo Hospitals, said, “Events like TANCARE will foster innovative thinking in our healthcare entrepreneurs and it will create awareness about the latest trends in the healthcare industry among the various stake-holders,” said Balaji.On the occasion, different institutions were awarded for the outstanding achievements in the healthcare sector in the state.
Apollo Hospitals, Chennai was awarded in the transforming healthcare category while best government hospital award was bagged by TB Hospital, Thoppur. The government Primary Health Centre at Medavakkam was awarded as the best PHC while Cancer Institute, Chennai was awarded for being the best non-profit hospital. The Banyan received the award for the best NGO working in health sector. Alma Siddha Care Multi-Specialty Hospital received award for being the best hospital in the traditional medicine sector.
Besides, four special awards were given to four hospitals for providing specialty services. Prashant Fertility Research Centre was awarded in the reproductive medicine category while in the diabetes care category, MV Hospital for Diabetes received the award. Similarly, Parvathy Hospital and Sankara Nethralaya received the awards for orthopedic and ophthalmology respectively.