Tamil Nadu Health Minister K.G. Arunraj.
| Photo Credit: VELANKANNI RAJ B
An announcement to establish evening clinics, on the lines of Amma mini clinics, is expected in the upcoming budget, Health Minister K.G. Arunraj said on Friday. This is to meet a long-felt need for working persons who often find it difficult to access healthcare services during the day.Mr. Arunraj said that evening clinics were an important public need and demand. “We will definitely implement it and the announcement will be made in the upcoming budget,” he told reporters on Friday.The Minister was responding to a point on Amma mini clinics that used to function in the evening hours under the AIADMK regime, and how a majority of persons who work felt the need for evening clinics as they had to otherwise depend on morning outpatient services.It was in December 2020 that the then AIADMK government established over 1,900 Amma mini clinics across the State. The clinics functioned from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. A total of 1,820 medical officers and 1,420 multipurpose health workers were appointed to the mini clinics. The scheme was sanctioned for a period of one year.Subsequently, the DMK government, after a review, decided not to extend the scheme beyond December 31, 2021, bringing the curtains down on the clinics. One of the main reasons cited for closure was that the mini clinics lacked infrastructure. Published - July 18, 2026 09:05 pm IST
