THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two male nurses of the Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, who were suspected of defrauding patients for some time were finally caught red-handed. The nurses, R Shameer and Bipin S Lal, were suspended pending inquiry on Saturday for cheating patients. The Medical College Police took the nurses into custody.
“They were supposed to have prescribed medicines on their own for a patient admitted to the neurosurgery unit. The bystander was under the impression that it was prescribed by the doctor. He purchased medicines worth Rs 10,000 from a private drug store. The medicines that were not needed for treatment were later returned by the nurses to the store and they pocketed the cash,” said an officer of MCH.
As the preliminary inquiry conducted by the Medical College superintendent found merit in the complaint, the GMC principal decided to suspend them. According to Medical College police SI Arun, “They prescribe medicines on their own. When a bystander hands over the medicines, they demand the bill also. Later, they approach the store and return the medicines and pocket the cash. We suspect that similar incidents might have happened before. But thanks to an accident case, they were caught red-handed,” said Arun.
“It was Vipin, a native of Kottavila, who filed the complaint. He pointed out that his mother Baby who suffered an accident at Sreekaryam on Thursday had to be admitted to MCH. For claiming the accident insurance, the bill of medicines also had to be produced. It was when they approached the drug store that the incident came to light. Through CCTV footage he identified the nurses also,” he added.
Meanwhile, similar incidents had also taken place at the Medical College where stents and other medical and surgical equipment were returned to the medical store and some attenders and nurses pocketed the cash. There are also allegations that some attenders steal valuables from bodies when they are shifted to the mortuary.