KOCHI: Will the two-member medical team appointed to probe the case of 13 patients at the Ernakulam Medical College (EMC) contracting postoperative infection serve the purpose? The answer is an emphatic ‘no’.
The team does not have a surgeon who can throw light on the incident. The team neither has an anaesthesiologist, who can also be of immense help in the inquiry.
“We had demanded a medical team comprising a micro-biologist, physician and a surgeon. But, the team appointed by the authorities has a cardiologist. Now, how can he make an authentic comment on a matter pertaining to operation theatres. What we need at this point of time is not a gimmick. The appointment of the two-member team is an attempt to throw dust in the eyes of the public,” said former Collector and a volunteer of the Justice V R Krishna Iyer Movement K R Vishwambharan.
“Had there been a surgeon in the team, he/she would have come out with the truth. It might be this fear that prompted the authorities to form a team without a surgeon. Do not forger the fact that this hospital is frequented by ordinary and poor people,” he pointed out.
Dr Sanil Kumar, another volunteer of the Krishna Iyer Movement, said that things would have been different if there was an anaesthesiologist in the team.
“In many hospitals, operation theatres usually come under the Department of Anaesthesiology. An anaesthesiologist could have been helpful to a great extend. Besides, the situation at the EMC is such that anybody can enter the operation theatre there. For instance, a channel crew entered the operation theatre of the EMC the other day and recorded visuals, which were later telecast. There should be security personnel at the gate of the operation theatre. It seems that every rule is breached here,” Sanil Kumar added.