Tamil Nadu govt’s fight against non-communicable diseases reaches high-rise buildings, gated communities

Chennai: High-rise buildings, gated communities and houses in upwardly mobile areas will soon come on the radar for health screening under the Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam scheme, Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian said on Monday.

Subramanian was speaking after inaugurating events for the fourth year of the flagship programme.

People residing in these buildings can call the state health helpline 104 for free screening, health services and medication under the scheme.

The scheme, launched in August 2021, offers healthcare services at people's doorsteps, primarily focusing on non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer and kidney diseases.

Health volunteers screen people for ailments, identify people at risk, fix appointments for medical consultations, follow up on consultation meetings and deliver drugs at doorsteps.

The aim is to reduce 75 per cent of deaths due to non-communicable diseases through early diagnosis and treatment.

A total of 1.86 crore people had been identified in the state thus far, Subramanian said.

Among the 1.86 crore screened, there are more than 92 lakh people with hypertension, 46 lakh people with diabetes, and 41 lakh others with a combination of both hypertension and diabetes.

Some people received physiotherapy, palliative care and home-based dialysis kits.

“We should have identified at least two crore people by now. There is a gap because our staff have been unable to enter high-rise apartments or gated communities. We want to ensure this service is available to them. We want to ensure we are now available,” he said.

In Chennai, 53 lakh of 56 lakh eligible people have been screened. The Greater Chennai Corporation had identified six lakh people with hypertension, 3.5 lakh people with diabetes and 3.3 lakh people with both diabetes and hypertension, Subramanian said.

The state will continue screening people at workplaces under the Thozhilalari Thedi Maruthuvam to ensure that people who go to work are not missed during home screening.

In the last year, more than three lakh people have been screened in more than 600 workplaces.

“We will soon start screening programmes at Guindy, Ambattur and Thirumullaivoyal,” he said.

Earlier, DPH Dr T S Selvavinayagam said 62 per cent of people in the high-risk group, including people who go to private hospital for treatment, receive medicines from the state government.

“The number of people who have brought blood sugar and blood pressure levels under control has increased from around 7.3 per cent to 17 per cent in three years. Besides giving them medicines, we want to encourage people to walk eight km a day, improve facilities for early testing and first aid to prevent complications,” he said.