Evening clinics at the health and wellness centres of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) have started registering a rise in the number of outpatients in various zones of the city, as the civic body has appointed doctors for 170 out of the 200 centres.
The evening clinics at the centres function from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
As doctors from urban primary health centres visit hospitals only during the day, residents want the GCC to open more such evening clinics. They have also demanded the appointment of 30 additional doctors to fill vacancies at the centres, particularly at the evening clinics, to improve services.
After the launch of 60 new health and wellness centres by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin last week, evening clinics have become popular among residents, according to councillors.
S. Malar, a resident of Anna Nagar, said the new health and wellness centre at NVN Nagar in Thirumangalam have been witnessing a rise in the number of outpatients in the evening hours, after the appointment of a doctor last week. “Before this, patients had to depend on doctors from other centres. Doctors have started visiting the evening clinics, in addition to working the shift from 8 a.m. to noon. This has improved the services. Residents bring children and senior citizens to the clinics after returning from work in the evening,” she said.
Ward 104 councillor T.V. Shemmozhi said residents in areas such as Anna Nagar had begun visiting the evening clinics at health and wellness centres after their launch by the Chief Minister. “The services at the clinics are free of cost. In areas such as Anna Nagar, a visit to a private clinic would cost over ₹2000,” he said.
Ward 88 councillor G.V. Nagavalli said outpatients had started visiting the evening clinics in her ward after new doctors had been posted. However, residents had demanded further improvement in the public health infrastructure, she added.
Ward 35 councillor S. Jeevan said public health services should be bolstered with proper infrastructure and filling of vacancies. “The posts of doctor and sanitary inspector at the centre in our ward are vacant. The Ward 34 sanitary inspector, who has been in charge of my ward (35), could not be reached over phone on Sunday,” he said.
Of the 150 PG doctors hired for GCC hospitals recently, only 113 have joined, while 37 are yet to report for duty. Meanwhile, attrition among specialist doctors continues to rise owing to poor salary. The specialist doctors on contract receive only ₹90,000 per month in GCC hospitals, officials say.
A total of 17 obstetrician and gynaecologist posts are vacant in GCC hospitals, affecting services in various zones. At least 12 paediatrician posts, 15 general surgeon posts, one anaesthetist and one dentist posts are vacant.
GCC health committee chairperson Santha Kumari said the civic body would hire doctors soon. “The specialist doctors get better remuneration in private hospitals. So, they leave the GCC centres. However, the new evening clinics have registered a 50% rise in outpatients in the past few days after recruitment of new doctors,” she said.
