The Tamil Nadu government will be unveiling the newest model in the state's healthcare infrastructure to stretch the arm of the healthcare to everyone's reach in treating the people in the areas without the Primary Healthcare Center (PHC). 

The state will soon have around 2000 mini-clinics to treat the basic health issues faced by the people. Speaking about the model, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami has on Tuesday said that the government will install 2000 mini-clinics across the state. 

The decision of establishing such clinics has come when there have been some developments that the hospitals and secondary healthcare facilities are refusing and reluctant to treat people with ailments other than COVID-19. 

The Chief Minister said that such developments were brought to the government's attention following which it has been decided to establish such mini-clinics that would treat the residents with the common health issues like fever and headache. According to the reports, these mini-clinics would be established in areas that are either don't have access or sit far away from the Primary Healthcare Centers. 

These mini-clinics will be equipped with one doctor, a nurse, and a health assistant in each clinic to address Edathe basic healthcare needs in the remote and vulnerable areas. According to the current healthcare system in the state, there will be one Primary Healthcare Center for every 30,000 people and PHC won't be in place in the areas that have a population of fewer than 30,000 people and these mini-clinics would be meeting the healthcare needs in such remote areas. 

While speaking to a news agency, Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said that the government has been planning to set up 2000 mini-clinics initially and the idea behind the new model is to take the medical infrastructure to the areas that are not qualified to have a dedicated Primary Healthcare Center based on population. 

The bureaucrat said that these clinics will be established as soon as possible and the reason behind the birth of such a model was the success attained by the fever clinics and camps that were established during the COVID-19 pandemic at ward levels to test the people. The fever camps across the state had played a significant role in carrying out intense and door to door testing of people for the viral infection and such ground-level models had conducted more tests in the state. 

Radhakrishnan further stated that the government is expecting that the mini-clinics would be a permanent set-up to the state's health infrastructure, similar to the health and wellness center model under the National Health Mission. According to the reports, these mini-clinics will be established in corporations, municipalities, and major villages, and these clinics will treat and provide medicines for basic ailments like fever and headache and other related complaints.