Respected Seniors, friends and colleagues,
It is an honour for me and my branch to serve the members of Indian Medical Association Tamilnadu as your Honorary State Secretary. I would like to thank everybody once again for reposting your confidence and trust in me to handle the state affairs. A big salute to all those seniors and elders who have formed and nurtured this glorious association to a behemoth that it is today.
We are in a very important phase for our fraternity due to Covid and its aftermath and the very uncertain future, also the various government regulations that threaten the very existence of the purity of our system of medicine and running of small and medium hospitals. We, as a united force should be able to dictate our terms on how we can work with a free mind and unafraid to treat our patients, following the medical ethics. We have also planned to represent to the Govt on various issues that we have been facing and give them a time frame for implementing. I will keep you posted on all representations and discussions and results of the same as and when it happens. Please do inform the State office of any major issues on the Govt side.
We had the FSS, PPLSSS, Finance Standing Committee meeting and the Nursing Home Board meet in Vellore, organized by Vellore IMA branch. We had a lot of useful discussions in the FSS concerning how to take this programme forward. It was decided that we will ask our members to pay Rs. 20000/- for the ensuing year, so as to be prepared for the upcoming year. We had a discussion on various issues that all our members are facing today, and also how best we can deal, as it is a big learning curve for all of us.
We had also discussed on the various problems that our hospitals facing like Fire safety certification, BMW disposal, Solid waste disposal, Labour issues, Minimum Wages Act, status of our representations to the Govt bodies etc. We as a team follow-up and bring them to a logical end. I will keep you updated on that front as and when we have any discussions with the Government. In the Finance Standing Committee where I presented the finances and proposals for a State Office in the heart of Chennai with an easy access to not only for the Chennai city branches, but also for the rest of the branches from all over Tamilnadu. As I mentioned earlier, our deposits are earning only 5.1% interest, whereas the inflation rate is 6.8%, so we are losing value for money. Hence, we should look for another means of safeguarding our money. I would like to state that we have paid Nil tax over the past 2 years and will continue in the same for the following years as well. We discussed the need for a Tax consultant and an expert in the field to guide us in the issues of paying high tax in FSS and PPLSSS schemes, whether the money can be used in any way to benefit our own members.
As far as the scam is concerned, the Fact-Finding Committee has submitted the details to the State Office, which I will circulate amongst our members in a nutshell. We will be looking forward to fix the responsibility and recover the money. The chargesheet has yet to be filed and a copy of the same would be available for us only after filing. We will follow it up at the highest priority. I’ll keep you posted at the earliest on any developments. Please feel free to offer suggestions on any matters concerning our association and fraternity.
The Coimbatore IMA branch has set a benchmark for conducting of a State Conference with so much of enthusiasm and participation by the members. Thanks to the Chairman of the Organizing committee Dr. S. Karthik Prabhu, Dr. Rajesh Babu, the Organising Secretary and Dr. Vinod Kumar, Organising Treasurer. The team effort was very visible in the turnout and participation. The scientific sessions were commendable and laudable with very useful day to day topics for every medical Practitioner.
We will be attending the NATCON in Patna this week and many installation ceremonies in various branches in the next month.
The website of imatn.com will be updated soon and all the relevant information would be placed for the interest of the members and the society. One of the important duties of the branch is to improve the membership, we should try all the means to improve the same. Also update the membership as and when any change happens. The Paramedical, CGP and the AMS wings have a mix of experience and wisdom of the seniors with the vigour and ideas of the young in taking all these wings to do even better. Branches are to organise the CGP, NHB, FSS, PPLSSS and NHB formation in your branches and support the State office in all the activities. Organise CGP sub faculties and sub chapters for AMS with an advice of the CGP and AMS State Office bearers and educate the development of modern medicine to the General Practitioners. Maintaining records at branches and the State office is very important. The records are to be maintained and to be handed over to the next team of office bearers, with proper endorsement. New office bearers are to be elected as per the constitution and the Bye Law of IMA and forward the list of office bearers as hard copy to the State office without fail by 31-01-2022. Any resolution passed in the branches pertaining the state matters may be intimated to the State office, so as to take action without waiting for State Council Meeting. We will soon have our own common by-laws to be adopted by the local branches, after due approval and will be circulated amongst the branches for registering each branch in their own area under the Societies Act and also asked to go in for a separate Pan card for tax purposes.
We request you all to conduct elections in your respective branches and forward the list of office bearers and also the state council members for updation. We request all to forward any suggestions for preparing the draft for the new constitution for our state branch so that we can circulate the draft along with the suggestions in our TIMA before adoption of the same.
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas
and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
Thanking you,
Yours in IMA service,
Long Live IMA.
Dr. N.R.T.R. Thiagarajan
Hony. State Secretary
Cell : 98944 47717
e.mail : drnrtima@gmail.com