CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin will launch the ‘Nalam Kaakkum Stalin’ health initiative at St Bede’s Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School in Santhome on Saturday, August 2.

Announcing the rollout at the Secretariat, government spokesperson J Radhakrishnan said the scheme would include 1,256 medical camps across the State. “1,164 camps will be organised in 388 Taluks at three camps per taluk. In the Greater Chennai Corporation limits, 15 camps will be held—one in each zone. Twenty camps are planned in five city corporations with a population above one million, and 57 in 19 corporations with populations below one million,” he said.

Radhakrishnan said that the camps will prioritise rural, slum, and tribal areas with limited medical access. Beneficiaries will include individuals aged above 40, those with diabetes or hypertension, patients with cardiac and mental health conditions, pregnant and lactating women, malnourished children, persons with disabilities, tribal communities, and socio-economically disadvantaged groups. “The camps will be conducted every Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm, and arrangements have been made to provide test results on the same day,” he added.

Monitoring panels have been set up at the state and district levels. Over 800 hospitals have been integrated into the scheme to manage footfall and service delivery.

Meanwhile, on August 9, Chief Minister Stalin will inaugurate a new 400-bed District Headquarters Hospital at Tambaram, constructed at a cost of Rs 110 crore. The hospital, located within the Tambaram Sanatorium complex, includes an emergency department, surgical centre, blood bank, dialysis unit, maternity block, isolation building (Rs 21 crore), and dental and lab facilities (Rs 7 crore).

Stalin will also distribute welfare assistance and land pattas to 25,000 beneficiaries at an event in Pallavaram on the same day.

Officials in Tambaram and Pallavaram are making elaborate arrangements to welcome the Chief Minister.