Chennai

Additional health officers were engaged for service at about 2,000 mini clinics throughout the State to provide primary care. However, after the requirement for healthcare workers for COVID-19 related services went up drastically, the State Health Department instructed Deputy Director of Health Services to divert these medical officers from mini clinics to the nearby government medical college hospitals based on the request from their deans.

As per the request of the Joint Director of Health Services, the medical officers should also be deployed at district hospitals or sub-district hospitals where the number of COVID patients has gone up in the recent days.

However, the mini clinics would continue to function with staff on contract and available medical officers.

This apart, the Deputy Director of Health Services has also been instructed to also deploy medical officers at vaccination camps, screening centres for COVID-19 patients and other COVID Care and Control activities at block and district levels.

When asked, Dr TS Selvavinayagam, Director, Public Health and Preventive Medicine, said that mini clinics would remain functional with the available staff and healthcare providers, while medical officers are diverted to ensure COVID-19 control activities.

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