Health services and administration in Madras City: problems and professional perceptions

The paper discusses in four parts material related to health services and administration in Madras City. A historical account on the health services establishment and administration is first presented. This is followed by the structural and organizational characteristics of the present health service system. A brief analysis of health services in Madras City and the problems they face in their day-to-day operations is then presented. And finally the discussion turns to professional perceptions on the administrative problems and their redress where we see different views of people handling at present the several departments in public hospitals of the city. The perceptions are such that they leave us enormously concerned with the state of affairs in public health services delivery system.