THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a move to ensure more compassionate care for children, the state health department is preparing to issue new guidelines directing healthcare workers to show greater empathy towards young patients, especially in casualty departments. The guidelines will also stress on the importance of timely treatment for children in emergency care settings.
The initiative follows a directive from the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (KeSCPCR), which emphasised that hospital environments must uphold child rights and avoid actions or behaviour that could frighten children or their caregivers.
The directive was issued in response to a petition filed by health activists after a distressing incident at the Tirurangadi Taluk Hospital in Malappuram on the night of October 8, 2024. According to the complaint, two children -- aged one and six, brought to the casualty ward with injuries to the finger and lips respectively -- were denied timely care. The attending doctor allegedly delayed treatment, and when urged by anxious parents to act quickly, responded by threatening to stitch the child’s wound without administering anaesthesia.
“The doctor appeared indifferent to the cries of a one-year-old with an injured finger. When one of the parents pressed for quicker care, she became agitated and made threats that deeply frightened both children present in the dressing room. The parents of one of the children had to borrow money to take their child to a private hospital,” said Kulathur Jaisingh, a lawyer who filed the petition before KeSCPCR.
The situation escalated further when the doctor filed a police complaint against one of the parents, alleging that they behaved in a threatening manner. The matter gained political attention after Tirurangadi MLA K P A Majeed raised it in the state assembly, prompting an inquiry by the district medical officer (DMO). The DMO’s report defended the doctor’s actions.
However, KeSCPCR member Cicily Joseph found that the doctor failed in her duty to protect the rights of the children.
Meanwhile, a representative of the Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) voiced concern that such complaints may demoralise doctors working under high-pressure conditions.