Tamil Nadu: Expert panel to develop policy for haemodialysis services in PPP model

CHENNAI: The National Health Mission (NHM) Tamil Nadu has decided to constitute an expert committee to develop a comprehensive ‘Policy Driven Road Map for implementing Haemodialysis Services’.

The committee will include senior officials, medical professionals, nephrology specialists and nominated representatives from reputed institutions and private organisations. It would study and document the best practices available under the Public- Private Partnership (PPP) models for haemodialysis units.

In a recent order, Dr A Arun Thamburaj, mission director, NHM, stated, “There’s an increasing demand for haemodialysis services across Tamil Nadu. So, the committee will develop a haemodialysis implementation project that will focus on improving accessibility, efficiency, and quality of services, particularly in addressing the burden of Chronic Kidney Diseases and associated challenges faced by patients in accessing dialysis care.”

The insurance-related improvements in haemodialysis would also be analysed by the expert committee, which will be headed by the Mission Director, NHM-Tamil Nadu. The challenges in the existing services would also be studied to create a roadmap that ensures equity in access, cost-effectiveness in operations, and innovation in service delivery. The final report with actionable recommendations will be submitted to the government by December 25.

Meanwhile, the doctor’s association has pointed out that the PPP-model would lead to privatisation which would severely affect kidney patients from middle-class families. “It’s not fair to privatise such an important healthcare service. In the name of PPP, the project will be handed over to corporate companies. The project should be implemented free of cost in all GHs. Permanent technicians should be appointed for delivering these services to patients,” said Dr GR Ravindranath, secretary, Doctors’ Association for Social Equality.