Thiruvananthapuram: Health Minister Veena George has directed the district medical officer (DMO) to submit a report on the shortcomings identified at the Government Medical College Hospital in Alappuzha. She sought the report while chairing a high-level meeting on the recent medical negligence cases in state hospitals.
The Minister also warned of severe consequences if corrective measures are not implemented to guarantee patients' safety.

In a separate meeting held with the Kozhikode Medical College authorities, the minister emphasised the importance of addressing patients' complaints promptly. It has decided not to take any further action against the doctor involved in a surgical mishap, where the surgeon operated on a child without the parents' consent.

However, the meeting did address the critical issue of understaffing at the hospital. The MCH authorities highlighted that the skewed patient-doctor ratio was one of the reasons for the mishap.

The appointment of additional staff for Kozhikode MCH to improve patient care capacity, along with digitisation of medical records and prescriptions, is under consideration, officials said.