Minister visits Wenlock Hospital to find 49 doctors absent

Minister visits Wenlock Hospital to find 49 doctors absent

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Feb 18: S. A. Ramdas, the state medical education minister, got an unpleasant surprise when he arrived at Wenlock Hospital to find that 49 doctors had absented themselves without applying for leave in spite of the fact that he had informed them in advance that he would visit the hospital to conduct a meeting with the doctors, paramedical staff, and nurses on Feb 18, Friday at 11:30 a.m. The enraged minister said that notices will be served on the absent doctors and that stern action will be taken against them. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since he had announced his arrival in advance, he found the hospital hostel to be very clean. However, it was quite obvious that the living conditions at the hostel are very cramped, the doors are damaged, and the roof is leaking. The minister also discovered that part of the hostel was very dirty. He demanded that an estimate should be submitted regarding repair work to the ministry of medical education so that funds can be sanctioned for its repair when the employees complained that the government was not releasing sufficient funds for the maintenance of the hostel.

The minister then interacted with the protestors who had organized a dharna in front of the hospital and were raising their voices against the medical charges levied on below poverty line (BPL) patients. The protestors told the minister that the hospital takes more than one-and-a-half hour to admit patients who are brought in ambulances. They also said that the hospital employees ask patients to purchase medicines on their own. The protestors demanded free treatment or concessions for BPL patients. When the minister promised that he will take care of the issues, the protestors gave a deadline of one week and withdrew from the spot.

MLC Captain Ganesh Karnik and Jagadish Shenava accompanied the minister, who told reporters that he intended to get all files cleared at all hospitals and ensure the proper functioning of each hospital. He said that all government as well as private hospitals should display citizen charts showing the availability of doctors, type of treatment offered, surgeries conducted, charges for medical services, and so on.

He then visited Fr. Muller Hospital in Kankanady, where Fr. Patrick Rodrigues, the director of FMCI welcomed him. Speaking to the doctors there, the minister praised the hospital for its excellent services and urged other hospitals to take Fr. Muller Hospital as a model.

The minister also visited the nursing and pharmacy colleges in Mangalore this afternoon. He will participate in the convocation of the K. S. Hegde Medical Academy at Deralakatte this evening and will then take the night train to Bangalore.