CHENNAI: The Chennai Corporation has so far identified locations in 140 wards for the construction of health and wellness centres, said Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Friday. Chief Minister MK Stalin had announced the scheme in the Assembly a week ago. Subramanian said the centres would come up in crowded places like markets, bus stands, and amidst cluster of TNHUDB tenements so that more people use it.
The CM had announced that 708 centres would be set up across 21 corporations, including Chennai, and 63 municipalities at a cost of Rs 180.45 crore. Health department will allocate Rs 35.45 lakh for each of the 200 wellness centres in the city, including Rs 25 lakh for construction. A total of Rs 588.94 crore has been allocated for improving the health infrastructure in Chennai, the minister said. While Madurai will have 69 centres, 63 will be constructed in Coimbatore, he said.
On the recruitment of doctors, he said the Amma mini-clinic doctors 2,000 doctors who worked during the pandemic will be given priority. “The public need not wait in queues at big hospitals for long even for small health problems. The clinics will function between 8 am-11 am and 4 pm-8 pm. Earlier, doctors coming out of medical colleges would start such clinics. It has reduced now and these facilities will bridge the gap,” said the minister.