Subramanian, ex-min debate over health ministry performance

CHENNAI: State Health Minister Ma Subramanian and his predecessor Dr C Vijayabaskar engaged in a heated debate in the State Assembly over the performance of the ministry during their respective regimes.

Participating in the debate on demand for grants for health department in the State Assembly, Vijayabaskar set the tone for the ‘enlightening’ exchange when he said that an average 4,000 persons were recruited per year for the department in the previous AIADMK regime, but it has reduced to 1,000 per annum in the last two years.

Intervening during the debate, Subramanian said that the government notified 4,308 vacancies and filled 1,021 posts, while another 1,584 positions, including doctors and paramedical staff would be filled through the next round of selection on April 23. Interviews would be conducted for 859 pharmacist posts on April 27.

An unrelenting Vijayabaskar drew a parallel between the maternal mortality rate in the two governments and said that it was reduced from 90 per lakh in 2012 to 54 in 2020, but it has only reached 52.3 per lakh in the incumbent DMK regime.

When minister Subramanian attributed the slow reduction in MMR to the impact of COVID, Vijayabaskar wondered how would the MMR be 19 per lakh, 43 per lakh and 45 per lakh in Kerala, Telangana and Andhra respectively, if it were due to COVID.

A peeved Subramanian asked the former minister not to speak as if it increased to 52 from 16. He also added that the UNO prescribed a MMR below 70 and government was striving to achieve zero.

Just when the Minister felt he got a breather, Vijayabaskar said that Tamil Nadu was number one state for six consecutive years in organ donation and transplant, but it has fallen below Telangana and Maharashtra.

Responding the Minister also pointed out that since May 2022, about 553 organs were harvested from 158 donors and the numbers would reflect in the next year’s ranking. The AIADMK also drew attention to rejection of treatment at hospitals under CM’s Health Insurance Scheme. Subramanian said income ceiling eligibility have been increased from 1,027 to 1,513 and 70,000 to 1.2 lakh per annum, respectively between the two tenures.