THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Health Minister Veena George made an unannounced visit to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital late on Thursday evening, to see its functioning firsthand. On reaching the MCH, the minister proceeded to the casualty wing around 10.30 pm, which was throbbing with activity. She spent around three hours at the MCH, talking to patients, bystanders and staff. On going through the attendance register, she found out that some of the staffers were absent.
She directed the MCH authorities to fast-track the process to relocate the casualty wing to the new block after listening to the complaints of severe congestion at the old casualty wing from both staff and bystanders. According to the minister, the Covid onset had held up the relocation process to the comprehensive emergency and trauma care centre equipped with state-of-the-art facilities set up on the lines of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi.
Later, the health minister issued a statement demanding stern action against those who stay away from duty. “Senior doctors and other staff should be present during their duty hours to ensure patient care. I have directed the MCH principal to monitor the situation and submit a report,” said Veena.
Meanwhile, the video post of the minister’s MCH visit, which was put up by Veena George on Facebook, went viral. It received over 11,000 likes and several FB users urged the minister to undertake similar visits to government hospitals in their respective localities.
Veena George seeks report on unauthorised absence of staff
Health minister Veena George has sought an explanation from medical college authorities on the unauthorised absence of staff, including doctors, from casualty duty. The minister sought a report on the issue within 24 hours. She held an emergency meeting with college authorities and higher level officials to address the problem, a day after she made an unannounced visit in the night.
The minister also directed that the names of staff on duty should be displayed on the board. Those who failed to take duty without approval shall face stern action, the minister warned. The meeting was attended by college principal, superintendent, department heads, additional chief secretary (health) Asha Thomas, Director of Medical Education, Dr Remla Beevi and joint director of DME Dr Thomas Mathew.