Latest news with #PHCs
Indian Express
05-07-2025
- General
- Indian Express
Maharashtra: Incomplete bridge on Gundenur river in Gadchiroli poses risk to tribals every monsoon
AMID HEAVY rains in the remote Bhamragad area of Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, an incomplete bridge on Gundenur river on National Highway 352 has emerged as a major cause of concern for tribals in the area. Datta Shirke, president of Jana Sangharsha Samiti said that incomplete bridge on NH-352 (Laheri to Narayanpur) is proving to be a 'death trap for tribals.' According to Shirke, the unfinished bridge poses significant challenges for residents, especially pregnant women and sick individuals in accessing healthcare, especially during monsoon. Gundenur river flows near Laheri village in Bhamragad taluk on the highway connecting Maharashtra to Chhattisgarh. The construction of this bridge began a few years ago. In 2018, an 84km patch of road was mentioned in a report titled, 'State-wise length of National Highways (NH) in India.' The administration is aware of the issue. When The Indian Express contacted Gadchiroli collector Avishyanta Panda, he said, 'After the situation came to light, a boat was arranged for the citizens to cross the river. The situation is serious at one specific period of the day when the water level is very high.' 'The work on the National Highway bridge was scheduled to be completed by March next year. Works are on track and will be completed within the stipulated timeline. The delays were owing to security issues because of the Naxal activities in the area. Police presence was required to construct the bridge,' said the district collector. Highlighting the other issues which caused delay in the work, Panda said, 'Due to remote location, supply of labour, materials and machine was difficult and disrupted, which also led to slight delay in construction of the bridge. All the measures for mitigation and help are in place. Boats have been supplied and nobody is allowed to cross the river without supervision. The district administration is continuously monitoring the situation and has visited the place multiple times.' Panda said that the list of all pregnant women is there with health staff so that they can be placed in 'Maher Ghar' attached to PHCs prior to delivery. Also, medicines and ration for three months have been provided beforehand to all these villages. Bhamragad tehsildar Kishore Bagde also appealed to residents to avoid crossing the flooded river and use the government-provided boat for their safety.
The Hindu
03-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Chief Minister inaugurates 208 urban health and wellness centres, 60 PHCs across Tamil Nadu
Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Thursday inaugurated 208 urban health and wellness centres across Tamil Nadu, established at a total cost of ₹52 crore. He also inaugurated 50 primary health centres (PHCs) set up at a cost of ₹60 crore at various locations in both rural and urban areas. During a function in the city, the Chief Minister inaugurated the urban health and wellness centre in Shastri Nagar in Adyar and interacted with the staff there. He also inspected the services being offered to patients. Both the urban health and wellness centres and PHCs are operating under the Health and Family Welfare Department. In May 2022, Mr. Stalin had announced that 708 urban health and wellness centres would be set up at a total cost of ₹177 crore in corporations and municipalities that have a population of 15,000 to 20,000. Of these, 500 were inaugurated in June 2023. Each urban health and wellness centre has a medical officer, staff nurse, health inspector, and supporting staff. The centres will function from 8 a.m. and 12 noon and from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and offer outpatient care, disease screening, lifestyle counselling, health education, immunisations, and drug delivery, among others. The PHCs in rural areas have been set up in Ariyalur, Chengalpattu, Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Dindigul, Erode, Kallakurichi, Kancheepuram, Krishnagiri, Nagapattinam, Perambalur, Ranipet, Sivaganga, Tenkasi, Thanjavur, Theni, the Nilgiris, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Tiruppur, Villupuram, and Virudhunagar districts. The PHCs in urban areas have been established in Coimbatore, Erode, Kanniyakumari, Karur, Krishnagiri, Madurai, Mayiladuthurai, Namakkal, Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram, Salem, Sivaganga, the Nilgiris, Tiruchi, Tirunelveli, Tiruppur, Tiruvallur, and Vellore districts. Minister Ma. Subramanian, Chennai Mayor R. Priya, MP Kanimozhi N.V.N. Somu, and Velachery MLA J.M.H. Aassan Maulaana were among those present on the occasion. In another event at the Secretariat, the Chief Minister launched portals for the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Information and Management System ( and the Tamil Nadu Satellite based Water Bodies Information and Monitoring and Protection System ( TN-WRIMS aims to bring all water-related data of the State into an integrated digital platform. It will have real-time dashboards and modules for rainfall, reservoirs, groundwater, tanks, and soil moisture. TN-SWIP aims to conserve and restore waterbodies using new technologies such as artificial intelligence and satellite data. It will also help improve waterbodies through real-time monitoring.
Time of India
03-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Wellness centres inaugurated in Madurai
1 2 Madurai: Chief minister M K Stalin on Thursday inaugurated 208 urban health and wellness centres (UHWC) and 50 primary health centres (PHC) across the state through video conferencing from the Secretariat. These new facilities were established at a total cost of 112 crore — 52 crore for UHWCs and 60 crore for PHCs. Of these, 18 facilities were opened within Madurai city limits. One of the newly inaugurated centres in the city is located at ward 50, Thaikkal Street, where Madurai mayor Indrani Ponvasanth participated in the local launch event. The centres are being set up under the National Urban Health Mission to improve access to primary healthcare services in densely populated areas. Each centre will provide preventive and curative services such as screening for non-communicable diseases, maternal and child health services, vaccinations, and general outpatient care. Officials from the Madurai corporation said these centres will help reduce the burden on tertiary hospitals by addressing health issues at the community level. The CM said the initiative is part of the state's broader goal to make quality healthcare accessible and equitable for all.
The Hindu
25-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Association registers objection to dialysis services in PHCs on PPP model
With the State government issuing an order to establish dialysis facilities in upgraded Primary Health Centres (PHC) and run them through Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, Service Doctors and Post Graduates Association (SDPGA) has registered its objection. The association has stated that dialysis is a tertiary care service that requires technicians under the supervision of physicians, and engaging private players to run dialysis units may lead to full-fledged privatisation in the future. Under this, the Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine has been given the responsibility to run the dialysis units through the PPP model. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the association said that PHCs are mainly focused on primary prevention aspects of the health system. As Tamil Nadu is seeing an increase in Non Communicable Diseases involving high blood pressure, diabetes, heart and kidney ailments, PHCs should be strengthened in early identification of risk factors to prevent further damages. Bringing a tertiary service will divert from their main role. The SDPGA said that engaging the private sector in the government setup may lead to full privatisation in the future. Introducing the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme in PHCs is the next step to ask medical officers to earn and meet out all expenses similar to what is happening now in the health institutions under the directorates of Medical and Rural Health Services and Medical Education and Research. Currently, dialysis facilities are available in all district headquarters hospitals and medical college hospitals without private partners. SDPGA demanded the government to expand the same kind of dialysis services to taluk and non taluk hospitals.
The Hindu
25-06-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
New Health Sub Centres to come up in T.N. with no new staff posts, basic infrastructure
Tamil Nadu is set to see the creation of 642 new Health Sub Centres (HSC) in rural and urban areas. However, there is a catch. The new facilities have been approved, but without new staff posts and basic infrastructure support. Instead, Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANM), who are working in Primary Health Centres (PHC), will be redeployed to the new HSCs. This decision has raised some serious questions on how the Health department has been handling acute shortages of manpower, including some 3,000-odd vacancies of Village Health Nurses (VHN)/ANMs for the past four years, while adding on new health infrastructure. The State currently has 8,713 HSCs, with the norms prescribing one HSC for every 5,000-6,000 population. Establishing 642 urban and rural HSCs on the basis of population was one of the announcements made by the Health Minister in the Assembly earlier this year. In line with this, a Government Order issued on June 13 stated that the Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine submitted a proposal and the list of 642 HSCs were identified for new creation on rationalisation as per population norms in rural and urban areas 'with no additional fund'. Each HSC has one post of VHN. Based on the proposal, the State government, while giving administrative nod for establishing the HSCs (617 in rural and 25 in urban), stated that creation of new posts will not be sanctioned and ANMs have to be redeployed to the HSCs as the posts of VHNs and ANMs carries identical scale of pay and are interchangeable. The available rent-free building or any government building should be utilised for the HSCs, and for the most basic infrastructure, such as fan and furniture, the existing infrastructure available in the PHC under which the HSC is located should be utilised. But this was not all. Electricity charges for the newly-created HSCs should be managed from the funds allocated towards electricity charges for the respective PHCs. As per official data, 2,013 posts of VHNs (of the 8,713 sanctioned) and 1,251 posts of ANMs (of the 2,057 sanctioned) are lying vacant, a source in the Health department pointed out. 'This shortage remains unresolved for the last four years citing court cases. For a government that has strong legal teams, it is unacceptable that legal issues relating to health manpower are not being resolved,' he said. Redeploying ANMs from PHCs to the new HSCs will give rise to additional vacancies in PHCs. 'As of now, 806 ANMs are in place. If nearly 600 of them are shifted, then additional vacancies will rise in PHCs. Not to forget that there is a huge vacancy of staff nurses in PHCs,' he added. 'Every time we ask, the court cases are cited for delay in filling up the VHN vacancies. As a result, maternal and child health services are getting affected. When the government has been successful in many cases, they should sort out this at the earliest. Instead of redeploying ANMs, the department should create new posts and fill up the vacant posts of VHNs at the earliest,' K.S. Manimegalai, State president, Tamil Nadu Government Health Women Union, said. A health official said they would fill up the vacancies immediately after the case was vacated in the Supreme Court. 'We have already filed the counter to vacate the stay and are waiting for the judgement,' he said, adding that ANM redeployment would be done as per procedure and need.
