TENKASI: Outpatients, especially elderly people, pregnant women, and those with infants, have demanded seating facilities during consultations at government hospitals (GHs), alleging that some doctors do not allow them to sit despite the availability of chairs or stools during consultations. However, the same doctors, while offering consultation at their private clinics, provide seating to outpatients, they claimed.
On January 3, 5, and 8, TNIE visited various healthcare institutions in the district, including the District Government Headquarters Hospital in Tenkasi and GHs in Alangulam, Veerakeralampudur and Ayikudi. At the Ayikudi GH on Thursday, Govindan (73), a former woodcutter suffering from osteoarthritis and a wound on his other leg, told TNIE, "The doctor who treated me in the OP ward did not allow me to sit even though a stool was available. I have visited his clinic in Sambavarvadakarai, where he always made me sit during consultation," he said. During the visit, TNIE also noticed two doctors -- one male and another female -- not allowing outpatients to sit during consultation despite the availability of seating furniture near them.
After a visit to the Alangulam GH on Saturday, TNIE raised the issue on X platform, saying that elderly patients and women with children were being forced to stand in long queues and even during consultations, highlighting that no seating facility was available for outpatients at the institution. The social media post attracted responses from the medical community across the country.