Residents’ group in R.A. Puram starts free clinic

Established on March 24, this neighbourhood free clinic in chennai is a boon particularly to the domestic help, drivers and other support staff associated with households in and around the neighbourhood

In Raja Annamalaipuram (RA Puram), residents can now exercise the option of having niggling medical problems addressed without any damage to their wallet. The “freebie” arrives in their own neck of the woods — thanks to a neighbourhood clinic established by residents, for residents. For ailments that require a battery of tests, these residents have the option of visiting laboratories nearby and have those tests done at a discount.

Raja Annamalaipuram Residents Association (RAPRA) initiated this service on March 10, 2024, building up on an older initiative, one that involved running medical camps from time to time. A physical, fixed clinic in the neighbourhood, open seven days a week, was a long-standing desire.

And when this service finally arrived, these residents lapped it up. At 12.20 p.m. on April 3, when this reporter (also a resident of R.A. Puram) visited the clinic, she noticed that since the day of inception, the clinic had drawn 200 patients. Given that R.A. Puram is an upmarket neighbourhood and residents have resources to access paid healthcare, this number is impressive.

Domestic help and drivers working at households in R.A. Puram are said to access the services, some of them even bringing their relatives for medical consultation and medicine. The clinic does not discriminate between a resident and non-resident: even those from nearby areas avail its services.

“Our aim in starting this residents association is to help the community in three important spheres: one is to attend to the civic needs of society, the second is about the health of the community, and the third is the education sphere and how to help the poor,” says Dr. Chandrasekaran R., president of the RAPRA, while seeking to throw light on the philosophy underpinning this service.

RAPRA was established in 2012.

Earlier, RAPRA would conduct free health camps regularly. The Association has been successful in achieving its goals in all the camps it has conducted so far, says Dr. Chandrasekaran, adding that this clinic has been his long-time dream.