Residents of Mogappair want the new Urban Primary Health Care (PHC) centre near Veeramamunivar park to be kept open on Sundays too as that would benefit a large number of people. This has been a long-standing demand of the residents since it was opened two-and-a half years ago.
Now, the PHC remains closed on Sundays and on government holidays. The new health centre was established after years of struggle by residents in the locality as they had to travel eight km to avail services at the nearest government hospital in Ambattur. Of course, the new health centre has put an end to their ordeal. It is kept open from 9 a.m to 3 p.m on all days except for Sundays, with a duty doctor and five nurses in attendance. However, residents want the centre to function on Sundays too.
“Most of the patients visiting PHC are daily wage labourers who go for work on Saturdays as well. They include migrant workers from Andhra Pradesh and Orissa who are employed at the Ambatur Industrial Estate. Only on Sundays, they will be able to visit the centre and get free medicine,” says K. Munuswamy, a resident from Mogappair.
According to Corporation officials, the health centre was built on a 1,500 sq ft plot at a cost of ₹66.50 lakh in Ward 93 of Zone 7 which has a population of around 33,000 people.
The new facility has a dedicated maternity ward which can accommodate 20 patients, separate rooms for doctors, nurses and paramedical staff, and a visitors’ hall on the ground floor. In the first floor, the hospital has an out-patient unit where on an average of 50 patients can be accommodated at a time.
