TENKASI: After a video of a dentist, who was allegedly in an inebriated state during duty, speaking to a patient whose tooth got damaged due to alleged medical negligence, went viral on social media, Joint Director of Health, Tenkasi, Dr Premalatha and Revenue Divisional Officer, Tenkasi, Lavanya sealed a private dental clinic in the presence of police personnel in Kadayam on Friday.
Sources said the dentist, Dr G Ramathangarajan, operated the Punnagai Pal Maruthuva Maiyam clinic without registering it under the Tamil Nadu Clinical Establishment Act. In the video conversation that went viral, Ramathangarajan purportedly admits to being inebriated. "The patient's attendant is heard saying that the tooth got damaged due to medical negligence and that the doctor was playing with the life of a person. The dentist then asks the attendant not to videograph the conversation and also demands the patient to give him five more minutes to remove the tooth. However, the patient refused to let the dentist treat him again," they added.
Taking note of the viral video, Dr Premalatha and Lavanya jointly inspected the clinic and sealed it based on instructions from district collector D Ravichandran and also served the dentist a show-cause notice. However, Premalatha said they sealed the clinic as it was not registered under the Tamil Nadu Clinical Establishment Act. "Once the dentist gets his clinic registered, he can reopen the centre," she added.
When asked if a recommendation would be made for suspending the dentist's registration for alleged medical negligence and being drunk during duty, the JD said that the health department would initiate such an action only when the patient proves the allegation. It may be noted that Ramathangarajan also runs a clinic in Pavoorchatram.