Medical equipment issues in college resolved after creating controversy: Govt doctor

Thiruvananthapuram | A senior government doctor who recently claimed shortage of surgical equipment and delays in procedures at the state-run Medical College Hospital here, on Wednesday said that the issues were resolved quickly only after he highlighted them publicly.

Dr Haris Chirakkal at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital, also questioned whether creating a controversy was the only way to resolve such issues.

The doctor, in a Facebook post, had recently said that the shortage of essential medical equipment had led to the postponement of surgeries and had alleged that repeated assurances from authorities had failed to resolve the issue, leaving patients in severe pain waiting for timely treatment.

On Wednesday, while speaking to reporters here, he said that a file related to one of the equipment was pending at the Collectorate for around two months, but was quickly processed after his FB post.

Another equipment was delivered at the hospital amidst the ongoing enquiry in connection with his revelations, he added.

"How were these resolved so quickly when I created an issue over it? How did these things move so fast after being delayed for months? So, things will be resolved only if an issue is created?" he asked.

At the same time, he admitted that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was right when he said that such revelations, when highlighted in the wrong way, could unintentionally misrepresent the larger picture.

"He (Chirakkal) is a sincere government employee, free of corruption and deeply committed to his duty. Despite this, he has now inadvertently become the reason for misrepresenting what is arguably the best healthcare system in India. It is unclear whether this was his intention. Still, this incident should serve as a lesson for all of us," Vijayan had said a day ago at an event in Kannur.

Responding to queries from reporters about what the CM had said, the doctor conceded that what he had said "would cause some damage to the health sector." He said that his intention was to ensure the shortage of equipment is resolved and he neither wanted the health department or the hospitals under it to be blamed nor did he want protests against them.

"Such things (protests) would lead to what I said being misunderstood. What I want is that red-tapism and bureaucratic delays be avoided," he said.

Dr Chirakkal further said that despite the CM's remarks, he has a lot of respect for Vijayan.

The doctor also said that he had expected some opposition to what he had said, but everyone, irrespective of party leanings, told him that what he said was correct.

Meanwhile, an editorial in the CPI(M) mouthpiece, Deshabhimani, said that what the doctor said had caused a lot of misunderstanding, but the health department intervened quickly and resolved the issue.

A committee has been appointed to investigate the cause of the situation and to recommend steps to prevent it from happening in the future, it said.

It alleged that the opposition was trying to gain political mileage out of the issue by spreading the news that the public health sector in the state was having problems.

The editorial said that pointing out mistakes and trying to correct them was fine, but it was different from trying to harm the government in the name of some shortcomings.