Health Minister of Tamil Nadu Ma Subramanian announced that the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) will not be privatised or handed over to a non-government agency. This statement comes in response to recent proposals suggesting a restructuring of the 225-year-old institution.
Last week, Health Secretary Supriya Sahu sought a proposal to reopen IMH as a “not-for-profit wholly government-owned company” under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013. The move was designed to bring corporate funding for the development of hospitals. However, the proposal was met with severe resistance from the associations of government doctors.
On 23 October, Sahu wrote a letter explaining that such an approach would help the IMH raise funds from national and international organizations as well as CSR initiatives. According to her, the present organizational setup is inadequate for the kind of transformation that needs to be undertaken at the IMH.
Additional Director of Medical Education Dr K. Shantharaman has been appointed as the nodal officer for this project. Section 8 companies can pursue social goals without the obligation to make a profit.
As in the case of all intents by the government, doctors’ associations did complain. Dr. A. Ramalingam, Secretary to the Service and Post Graduate Doctors Association, condemned the plan. According to him, though the government is contemplating many strategies, it is not finding ways to invest in some infrastructures and manforces. He feels this process might lead to the total privatisation of medical departments.
The Doctors’ Association for Social Equality echoed this. According to DASE, this was something that the government needed to take responsibility for what was going wrong in IMH instead of shifting the burden to another company. They need to put an end to the issues that the state has created, instead of building a new one.
Minister Subramanian declared that the government would do everything in its power to keep IMH under its control. Such discussions are still going on as everyone is raising their apprehensions and hopes regarding the development of mental health services within the state.
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