Health and Family Welfare Minister Mr. Subramaniam on Wednesday said 4,308 vacancies in various government hospitals would be filled within two months.
Speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting to review the progress of various schemes being implemented by his department, Mr Subramaniam said that the process of recruitment of medical personnel, including doctors and nurses, is on. The Medical Recruitment Board had already recruited 237 pharmacists, all of whom were given appointment orders. Counseling had started for the recruitment of 1,021 doctors. It was decided to complete the process within two months.
There is no shortage of medicines
The minister said that there is no shortage of medicines in government hospitals. Some groups with vested interests were trying to create the impression that there was a shortage. There was no truth in it. Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation had adequate stock of 322 essential medicines and 302 special medicines in all the district drug godowns. He said that if anyone faces difficulty in getting medicines in government hospitals, they can call the 104 helpline.
The Minister said that a Cancer Research Institute with state-of-the-art facilities for diagnosis and treatment of patients is being set up at Kancheepuram at an estimated cost of Rs.300 crore. It will be one of the largest and most modern cancer research centers in the country. He said that the project would be completed in a year.
He said his department is prepared to face any outbreak of monsoon-induced fever. Health officials were directed to take steps to control any such outbreak during the northeast monsoon.
The meeting was inaugurated by Municipal Administration Minister KN Nehru. P. Senthilkumar, Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, Shilpa Prabhakar Satish, Director, National Health Mission, M. Pradeep Kumar, Collector, senior officers of Health and Family Welfare Department participated.