A video depicting the suffering of the patients without stretchers at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) even when top officials are inspecting the institution has sent shock waves in the social media.
Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Water Supply, and District Monitoring Officer, Harmander Singh, visited the hospital today to monitor the efforts taken in connection with dengue prevention.
But it was really shocking to note that a number of patients were suffering for want of stretchers even when such senior officials were present.
CMCH is a major hospital in the western region where thousands of patients, outpatients and inpatients, not only from Coimbatore district but also from Tirupur, the Nilgiris, Erode, and Namakkal get treatment.
However, during the past few days, a number of patients have started complaining non-availability of stretchers, even for patients with severe ortho problems.
For instance, Nataraj from Mettupalayam, who was injured in an accident, could not be rushed to the emergency ward because of shortage of stretchers.The delay caused him immense pain.
When this was published in a weekly, the Dean of the hospital, Dr.Asokan refuted it and contended that there was no such issue at all in the hospital because of the availability of 96 wheel chairs and 98 stretchers. He blamed the media for spreading false information.
Today there was a video once again of some patients, who are unable to walk, suffering for want of a stretcher.
Apart from Harmander Singh, District Collector T.N.Hariharan, Coimbatore Corporation Commissioner, Vijay Karthikeyan and the Dean of the hospital were present then.
The patient has alleged that the employees of the hospital are unwilling to heed to his requests but told him point-blank that no stretcher was available.
It is an extremely disquieting situation which calls for some drastic action as otherwise poor patients will be left to the mercy of the unscrupulous.
Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Water Supply, and District Monitoring Officer, Harmander Singh, visited the hospital today to monitor the efforts taken in connection with dengue prevention.
But it was really shocking to note that a number of patients were suffering for want of stretchers even when such senior officials were present.
CMCH is a major hospital in the western region where thousands of patients, outpatients and inpatients, not only from Coimbatore district but also from Tirupur, the Nilgiris, Erode, and Namakkal get treatment.
However, during the past few days, a number of patients have started complaining non-availability of stretchers, even for patients with severe ortho problems.
For instance, Nataraj from Mettupalayam, who was injured in an accident, could not be rushed to the emergency ward because of shortage of stretchers.The delay caused him immense pain.
When this was published in a weekly, the Dean of the hospital, Dr.Asokan refuted it and contended that there was no such issue at all in the hospital because of the availability of 96 wheel chairs and 98 stretchers. He blamed the media for spreading false information.
Today there was a video once again of some patients, who are unable to walk, suffering for want of a stretcher.
Apart from Harmander Singh, District Collector T.N.Hariharan, Coimbatore Corporation Commissioner, Vijay Karthikeyan and the Dean of the hospital were present then.
The patient has alleged that the employees of the hospital are unwilling to heed to his requests but told him point-blank that no stretcher was available.
It is an extremely disquieting situation which calls for some drastic action as otherwise poor patients will be left to the mercy of the unscrupulous.