Minister on a surprise inspection at Kottayam MCH

The visit came a day after a similar inspection at the Thiruvananthapuram MCH

Health Minister Veena George carried out a surprise inspection at the Government Medical College in Kottayam late on Saturday.

The visit came a day after a similar late night inspection at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. During the inspection, which began around 9.30 p.m. and lasted till 11.45 p.m., the Minister interacted with the patients, their bystanders as well as with the hospital employees.

An examination of the duty list suggested that no senior doctors were on duty in the Emergency department at nights. Based on the finding, a direction was issued to ensure the service of senior doctors in the ranks of Assistant Professors at the Emergency wing during night hours.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said plans were afoot to implement a Quality Improvement Initiative to improve the quality of service in the Emergency department of Kottayam Medical College. The goal is to ensure the best quality treatment in the shortest possible time.

Meanwhile, the Minister also recommended action against the hospital staff who asked the patients to get paracetamol injection drug from outside despite having sufficient stock at the hospital. Directions were also issued to the Kerala Medical Services Corporation (KMSCL) to ensure sufficient stock of medicines for the hospital.

Alongside the Emergency department, the Minister also inspected the observation rooms, wards, staff room, various X-ray, and scanning units, and directions were issued to take immediate action to rectify the deficiencies.