CHENNAI: The management of Government Stanley Medical College Hospital has issued a memo to a multi-purpose sanitation worker after a video showing him distributing eggs to in-patients in an ‘unhygienic’ manner went viral on Wednesday. The video showed him placing an unshelled egg on a patient’s bed while distributing food.
Dr A Aravind, dean of Government Stanley Medical College Hospital, said the worker was a permanent employee with a clean record, but his conduct was unacceptable.
“He is a permanent staff member with a clean record, but what he did on the day is wrong. So, we have issued a memo. We conducted an inquiry and the report will be submitted to the Directorate of Medical Education,” he said.
Health Minister KG Arunraj, speaking to the press on Thursday, said the video had been recorded five months ago and alleged that the person who shot it had demanded `20,000 from the worker.
“Since he did not give the money, the person released the video only now. We conducted a detailed inquiry and found that the video was taken with the intention of blackmailing the worker,” Arunraj said.
The minister added that the worker had told the inquiry committee that he placed the egg, with its shell intact, on the patient’s bed only after the patient asked him to do so as the attendant was not present.
The video triggered criticism on social media, with netizens questioning the manner in which patients were being treated at the government hospital.
