Kerala: Ramesh Chennithala demands judicial probe on COVID-19 deaths due to negligence
Oct 22, 2020
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 22 : Kerala Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala on Thursday demanded a comprehensive judicial probe into deaths in COVID-19 hospitals across the state due to alleged medical negligence and ill-treatment.
Addressing a press conference here, Chennithala said that Kerala was witnessing a string of cases of medical negligence and the government was silencing people who raised their voices.
"Kerala is witnessing a string of cases of medical negligence, and what is even more shocking is that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government is trying to hide this from the general public and silencing people who raise their voice against this. The Kalamassery Medical College saw the death of a patient named Harris solely because his tube was not connected to a ventilator," he alleged.
"Similar cases have resulted in the untimely demise of Jameela and Baihaqi. Baihaqi had even sent a voice-clip to his brother where he claims that he would get proper treatment only if he bribed hospital authorities. This is nothing less than pathetic. Several Covid patients have killed themselves in government hospitals," he alleged.
"One patient was infested with worms in Thiruvananthapuram Medical College. Another patient's family in Kollam was not even informed of his death for four days. Are these what we are to expect from Kerala that boasts to be No 1 in India?" he said.
Chennithala said that he also spoke to Dr Najma, who was suspended from the Kalamassery Medical College Hospital after raising her voice against these atrocities.
"She is in fear as she is being cyberbullied by CPM cyber goons. The nursing officer who pointed out this medical negligence was suspended. It is no different from Uttar Pradesh," he said.
"Judicial investigation is required around these allegations, and the family of the deceased must be compensated appropriately," he added.
