2 CMCH staff suspended for denying wheelchair to elderly patient

COIMBATORE: Two staff members of Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) have been placed under suspension for not providing wheelchair service to an elderly patient.

A video of a youth struggling to take his eighty-four-year-old father, Vadivel, who was unable to walk out of the hospital after treatment, was circulated on social media. After receiving sharp backlash from the public, the CMCH Dean, M Geethanjali, on Wednesday suspended two supervisors, Esther Rani and Manivasagam, both contractual staff engaged by a private firm.

The octogenarian, a severe diabetic, was accompanied by his son, V Kalidas. After undergoing an examination at a multi-specialty department on the third floor of the hospital, the elderly man requested the hospital staff for a wheelchair to leave the premises.

One of the staff members is said to have left abruptly, saying there was another patient to attend to, and also said to have demanded a bribe of Rs 100 for the service. As the person did not return for a long time, the visibly upset youth helped his father with great struggle to reach the ground floor and then proceeded in an auto.

Dean M Geethanjali told the media that there are sufficient numbers of wheelchairs in the hospital. “In addition to them, orders have been placed for purchasing more wheelchairs. Soon, four staff members will be deployed with wheelchairs and stretchers to receive and transport the patients. An inquiry will be conducted into allegations of bribery,” she said.