‘Proposal to outsource dialysis services in govt. hospitals is first step towards privatisation of healthcare in TN’

A recent proposal made by the Medical Education and Research Department to the Health and Family Welfare Department to outsource dialysis services in government medical college hospitals falling under the control of Directorate of Medical and Research has once again raised fears among activists and doctors about the steady shift of the government to privatise important medical services. The roadblocks mentioned were “availability and quality of machines, trained technicians and supporting staff, consumables and availability of nephrologists.” Regarding the existing system of dialysis services in government hospitals, the proposal said that adequate number of dialysis machines were already established with government / National Health Mission funds at the hospitals. A. Veronica Mary, a social activist based in Madurai said, the main revenue for taluk hospitals and technicians comes from dialysis services. But the unfortunate situation in the State is that the total number of permanent dialysis technicians working in government hospitals is only seven and the number of temporary staff is also very less,” she added.