Over 3.22 lakh benefited from Innuyir Kappom scheme, more private hospitals are getting enlisted: TN govt

CHENNAI: As many as 3,22,837 have benefitted in the State under the Innuyir Kappom Nammai Kakkum-48 Thittam so far, according to the data released by the Health Department.

Over Rs 282.12 crore has been spent on the scheme to treat road traffic accident victims within the first 48 hours at government and private hospitals in the State.

With the financial assistance being increased to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 1 lakh now, more number of people are expected to benefit from the scheme. Officials point out that the scheme has about 2,800-3,000 beneficiaries every month.

More than 500 places have been identified as accident-prone areas to implement the scheme, effectively ensuring people get emergency services quickly.

In June 2022, a total of 669 hospitals, both public and private, were empanelled in the scheme. Currently, there are 721 hospitals, including 473 private and 248 government hospitals, that have been empanelled to provide free treatment to road accident victims within the first 48 hours.

Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine Dr T S Selvavinayagam said that the scheme has created a massive impact on individuals and families in addition to saving lives in crucial hours.

“The individuals at the site of accidents, emergency transport systems, and hospital providers need to be appreciated. They supported the initiative wholeheartedly in this process,” said Dr Selvavinayagam.

The officials from the State Health Department say that the majority of road traffic accident cases are taken to government hospitals with the help of emergency ambulance vehicles. “Though cases treated in government hospitals are more in numbers, the claims under the scheme are considerably less. Meanwhile, it is a welcome move to see more number of private hospitals joining as empanelled hospitals to benefit the road traffic accident victims,” said the official.