Surgeries resume in Thiruvananthapuram MCH's Urology department

The Hindu

4 days ago

Surgeries and procedures which had been stalled in Unit 1 of the Urology department of the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) since June 27, because of the dearth of some accessories of Lithoclast machine, resumed on Tuesday.
The procedures could be resumed after the authorities stepped in to fast track the purchase of the machine's probe and ensured that it was made available at the hospital on Tuesday.
Surgical procedures at the Urology department had come to a standstill after the purchase process for the Lithoclast machine's probe through the hospital development society had been inordinately delayed.
Facebook post
The stalling of the procedures had made headlines after the Head of the Urology department, Haris Chirackal, penned in his Facebook page on June 27 his disappointment and shame over having to cancel surgeries at the eleventh hour, putting patients to difficulty.
The social media post also spoke about the funds squeeze in the MCH and how patients ended up buying accessories for various equipment on their own just so that the surgeries took place as planned.
Dr. Chirackal's post had stirred up a hornet's nest with the Opposition quick to accuse the government of allowing public health to wither away. The Health Minister, who was forced to acknowledge the systemic issues which affected patient care adversely in public sector hospitals, also set up a four-member committee to enquire into the issues that Dr. Chirackal raised.
Kerala Government Medical College Teachers' Association (KGMCTA), which came out in support of Dr. Chirackal, said that the government had for long been ignoring the doctors' complaints about infrastructure inadequacies and shortage of human resources which were affecting patient care services in public sector hospitals.
Holds protest
The KGMCTA on Tuesday observed the Doctors' Day as a day to protest against the government's neglect of the long-standing issues raised by the organisation, including non-payment of pay revision arrears to medical college faculty and the government's refusal to appoint adequate faculty in medical colleges. The KGMCTA organised protest marches to all government medical colleges across the State.
Meanwhile, the Congress, which has been launching scathing attacks against the Health department's inefficiency, organised marches to all government medical colleges across the State. K.C. Venugopal, MP, who inaugurated the protest march at Pariyaram Government Medical College Hospital, demanded that the government take immediate steps to resolve the issues of equipment and staff shortage in public hospitals.
The BJP also marched to the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital on Tuesday raising similar demands. Former BJP State president K. Surendran accused the government of neglecting public hospitals, thus forcing people to approach the private health sector for care, pushing up out of pocket expenditure.