T.N. mid-level healthcare providers demand job regularisation

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The Tamil Nadu Mid-level Healthcare Providers’ Union urged the State to ensure the proper utilisation of Jan Arogya Samiti funds at a press meet held at the Chennai Press Club on Sunday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Tamil Nadu Mid-Level Healthcare Providers’ Union has handed over a representation to Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, seeking job regularisation, basic salary hike, paid maternity leave, and the official re-designation of Mid-Level Healthcare Providers (MLHPs) as Community Health Officers.

The union, which represents 4,848 health and wellness centres in the State, said in its memorandum that MLHPs deliver 12 packages of services and perform 14 types of medical tests. Contractual MLHPs draw a basic salary of ₹21,000, up from ₹18,000, while their counterparts in other States receive ₹60,000 to ₹70,000, alongside monthly incentives, the petition said.

At a press meet on Sunday, the union’s State president N. Sundari, secretary R. Jeyasurya, and treasurer P. Surya urged the State to ensure the proper utilisation of Jan Arogya Samiti funds. They alleged that the funds — managed via joint bank accounts by village panchayat presidents and primary health centre medical officers — were not being properly utilised for health centre activities or meetings.

According to them, regular-scale employees and medical officers utilise the funds while contract staff are forced to spend their own personal money on centre maintenance, equipment cleaning, and purchasing registers.

Further, they demanded that General Nursing and Midwifery and B.Sc Nursing graduates be given priority in nursing recruitment over Auxiliary Nurse Midwife diploma holders.

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