The Department of Health and Family Welfare is one of the

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

and is responsible for ensuring access to basic

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

services in the state.

Objective

The responsibility of the department is to make quality medical facilities available and accessible to the people, to focus on preventing diseases and to promote adoption of healthy life style.

Overview

The state has robust health facilities and ranks higher in all health related parameters such as high life expectancy of 74 years (sixth) and 98.4% institutional delivery (second). Of the three demographically related targets of the

Millennium Development Goals In the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 created following the Millennium Summit, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. These w ...

set by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and expected to be achieved by 2015, Tamil Nadu achieved the goals related to improvement of maternal health and of reducing infant mortality and child mortality by 2009.

Infrastructure

The public health infrastructure in the state includes both government-run hospitals and health centers managed by the department of health. , the state had 404 public hospitals, 1,776 public dispensaries, 11,030 health centers and 481 mobile units run by the government with a capacity of more than 94,700 beds. The

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

in Chennai was established in 16 November 1664 and was the first major hospital in India. Tamil Nadu is a major center for medical tourism and Chennai is termed as "India's health capital".

Medical tourism Medical tourism is the practice of traveling abroad to obtain medical treatment. In the past, this usually referred to those who traveled from less-developed countries to major medical centers in highly developed countries for treatment unavaila ...

forms an important part of the economy with more than 40% of total medical tourists visiting India making it to Tamil Nadu.

Medical education

There are over 870 medical, nursing and dental colleges in the state including 21 for traditional medicine and four for modern medicine of which 79 public medical colleges and research institutes are run by the department.

Madras Medical College Madras Medical College (MMC) is a public medical college located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1835, it is one of the oldest medical colleges in India, as well as in Asia. History The Government General Hospital was established ...

was established in 1835 and is one of the oldest medical colleges in India. As per the

National Institutional Ranking Framework National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) is a ranking methodology released annually by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, to rank institutions of higher education in India. The framework was approved by the former Ministr ...

(NIRF) rankings in 2023, eight medical colleges from the state are ranked amongst the top 100 in the country.

Other services

The department is responsible for the administration of

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

such as free

polio vaccine Polio vaccines are vaccines used to prevent poliomyelitis (polio). Two types are used: an inactivated vaccine, inactivated poliovirus given by injection (IPV) and a attenuated vaccine, weakened poliovirus given by mouth (OPV). The World Healt ...

for eligible age groups and

Covid-19 vaccine A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19). Knowledge about the structure and fun ...

. The department is also responsible for the implementation of state

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

scheme for eligible beneficiaries. The department also manages and runs

emergency care Emergency medicine is the medical specialty concerned with the care of illnesses or injuries requiring immediate medical attention. Emergency physicians (or "ER doctors") specialize in providing care for unscheduled and undifferentiated pa ...

ambulances An ambulance is a medically-equipped vehicle used to transport patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to ...

across the state. It is also engaged in prevention, education and treatment of specific diseases such as

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

and

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. The department also manages special undertakings responsible for

maternal A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestatio ...

and

neonatal In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to Juvenile (orga ...

health,

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

and welfare of the blind. Food safety and inspection, drug approval and control are also functions under the purview of the health department.

Sub-departments

The following sub-departments and undertakings operate under the department: ;Sub-departments * Department of Food Safety & Drug Administration (DFSDA) * Directorate of Drugs Control (DDC) * Directorate of Family Welfare (DFW) * Directorate of Indian Medicine and Homeopathy (DIMH) * Directorate of Medical Education (DME) * Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services (DMRHS) * Directorate of Public Health and Preventive Medicine (DPHPM) * National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) * Tamil Nadu State Health Transport Department (TSHTD) ;Undertakings and bodies * Medicinal Plant Farms and Herbal Medicine Corporation (TAMPCOL) * Tamil Nadu Health System Project (TNHSP) * Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation Limited (TNMSC) * Tamil Nadu State AIDS Control Society (TSAIDS) * Tamil Nadu State Blindness Control Society (TSBCS) * Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu (TRANSTAN)

Ministers

References

External links

Official Website of the Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Department

* ttp://www.tn.gov.in Official website of Government of Tamil Nadu {{Health in Tamil Nadu Government departments of Tamil Nadu Health in Tamil Nadu Year of establishment missing

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...