Health Minister K.G. Arunraj interacting with visitors at the Kilpauk Medical College Hospital during an inspection on Friday.
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Within days of launching ‘Nalam TN’, the online portal of the Tamil Nadu Health Foundation, the Health Department has received donations to the tune of ₹2.8 crore, Health Minister K.G. Arunraj said on Friday.Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay launched the portal on July 14. Incidentally, a Government Order (G.O.) to establish the Tamil Nadu Health Foundation was issued on August 1, 2025, based on an announcement made by the then Health Minister in the Assembly to establish corporate social responsibility activities for strengthening infrastructure at government hospitals under the Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project. It is a company under section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013, according to the order.Dr. Arunraj said the purpose of ‘Nalam TN’ was to enable corporates and members of the public to contribute towards improving the infrastructure of government hospitals across the State. “Many have come forward to contribute, and several people have said they would donate directly to Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay. This initiative will be 100% transparent, and every rupee contributed will be spent for the purpose for which it was given,” he told reporters on the sidelines of an inspection at the Government Kilpauk Medical College Hospital (KMCH).A total of 1,25,000 people have used ‘Nalam AI’, a WhatsApp chatbot service rolled out earlier. The service, which was introduced in 22 districts, enables persons to register for outpatient services and obtain outpatient slips at all government health facilities. The facility was available for the Department of Respiratory Medicine of Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH). So far, 500 persons have booked appointments.Dr. Arunraj said the chatbot service would soon be introduced in other districts, while the facility to book appointments would be introduced in a phased manner in other hospitals. He said the service was one of the efforts to improve patient experience at government hospitals. A QR code-based complaint system is in place at the RGGGH to report unclean toilets. The supervisor is alerted immediately. If the issue is not resolved in half an hour, it is escalated to the Dean. Dr. Arunraj said similar facilities would be expanded to other hospitals. The upcoming Budget will have an announcement on evening clinics, he said.During the inspection at KMCH, the Minister visited the outpatient departments, comprehensive emergency obstetric, and newborn care centre, Amma canteen, and student hostels. He held discussions with officials of the Health and Public Works Departments on restoring a portion of the CEMONC building, which was demolished for Chennai Metro Rail works. He also instructed officials to obtain a structural stability certificate for the building from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras, a press release said.Dr. Arunraj later inaugurated a hyperbaric oxygen therapy unit at the Department of Hand Reconstruction and Microsurgery at the Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital. On behalf of the Rotary Club of Madras, the required infrastructure and equipment was installed at the hospital under CSR funding at a cost of ₹2 crore. Presently, over 1,978 patients were being treated at the hospital for chronic ulcers and varicose ulcers for whom the therapy was essential, a release said. Published - July 17, 2026 10:53 pm IST
