The Hindu : National : VHS honours staff, donors

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VHS honours staff, donors

Special Correspondent

Promises to continue providing affordable, quality healthcare

— Photo: M. Vedhan

N.S. Murali (left), secretary, Voluntary Health Services, greets V.K. Subburaj, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, at the golden jubilee celebrations of the VHS in Chennai on Wednesday. Looking on is VHS president M.S. Swaminathan.

CHENNAI: Fifty years after a legend took the first step towards realising his vision of healthcare for all, his dedicated band of followers at the Voluntary Health Services Hospital, who kept his dream alive, celebrated the perpetuity of the institution and the philosophy that fuels it.

On Friday, the heirs of VHS founder K.S. Sanjivi honoured their donors, loyal staff and promised to continue providing affordable, quality healthcare to everyone, irrespective of their ability to pay for these services. Formally, Principal Secretary, Health, V.K. Subburaj unveiled a plaque to commemorate the golden jubilee of setting up the VHS Trust in 1958. Mr. Subburaj commended VHS for its yeoman service to the public. Many schemes being implemented by the Central and State governments in the health sector were already outlined and implemented by Sanjivi and his team several years ago. The stress on primary health, community outreach, preventive healthcare, and health insurance were some examples of Dr. Sanjivi’s foresight, he added. The VHS was the single health institution in the non-governmental sector receiving the maximum financial assistance from the government. Mr. Subburaj listed some of the achievements of Tamil Nadu in the area of health.

N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, said the context in which VHS was started and continued to function in repeatedly vindicated its founding vision. Health deprivation exists in the country on a gigantic scale and it was clear that rising India had not done so well in providing primary healthcare services to the people, he added. Mr. Ram said the VHS was a “wonderful story of someone who figured it out comprehensively and for the long haul, using all that was required to develop a model for primary healthcare.”

According to the figures provided by the National Family Health Survey, between 1998-99 and 2005-06, the picture worsened in many States, including Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Areas of concern included inadequate immunisation coverage, high infant mortality rates, high levels of malnutrition and lack of access to primary health centres. Public spending on health was less than one per cent of Gross Domestic Product and this reflected in the outcome, he added.

M.S. Swaminathan, president, VHS, said a few catalytic interventions would make a load of difference to healthcare. There were a number of lessons the national health missions could derive from VHS. The Sanjivi model of inclusive growth could indeed be achieved. Sanjivi had also indicated the pathway towards achieving it. Prof. Swaminathan expressed his gratitude to all those who supported Sanjivi when he started and those who continued to take his vision forward.

Those who have been associated with the organisation for many years as consultants, staff and patients offered felicitations. This included senior neurologist Krishnamoorthy Srinivas, VHS central committee member and donor R. Rajagopal, staff members K. Anandavalli and Pathu Mohammed and senior subscriber to the insurance programme Janakiraman.

N.S. Murali, secretary, who has been with the institution since its inception, was honoured by the hospital staff. He said his mentor K.S. Sanjivi promoted a preventive healthcare approach, catering to the middle and lower middle classes particularly. He thanked the senior medical consultants who perform honorary service, juniors who receive a token as remuneration, the donors and the Tamil Nadu government for their support.

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