CHENNAI: Health Minister Ma Subramanian launched the second wing of TeleMANAS, a tele-mental health helpline, at the Government Institute of Mental Health, Kilpauk. The government launched the service in 2022 and the first wing has been functioning from the DMS campus.
The helpline will function with six psychologists and one psychiatrist. The staff will now work in two shifts and the service will soon be extended to 24 hours, officials said. Since the inception of TeleMANAS (14416) in 2022, over 40,000 calls were received, of which 70% were from people in the age group of 18-40 years, Subramanian said.
The health minister also launched Thozhilalar Thedi Maruthuvam, an extension of the Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam scheme, in Tiruvallur district. Under the programme, staff in industries will be screened for non-communicable diseases.
The health minister said around eight lakh workers were screened under the scheme so far and it will be extended to more workplaces to cover 32 lakh beneficiaries.