Thiruvananthapuram: The Indian Medical Association and prominent doctors have disapproved of the gherao by the CPM-affiliated Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) of Asha Kishore, director of the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) on Tuesday, the first such incident at the institute since its inception 39 years ago.
IMA State president Dr A V Jayakrishnan said SCTIMST is the only such institute functioning in the State combining frontier research, development of biomedical devices and patient care. Whatever be the motivation of the DFYI activists, taking agitation to the hospital premises, let alone Chitra Medical Centre, must be condemned.
“Hospitals services are spared even in war,” he said. “The IMA stand is against importing intimidation and other such street tactics into hospitals and their premises as it would upset critical life-saving duties.”
Dr K Sasidharan, urologist and B C Roy awardee, said the gherao as a form of protest inside the hospital was "absolutely unacceptable". No civilised nation allowed such forms of agitation at any treatment centre, he said. “The ill-advised cadre had not taken into account the fact that the hike was not effected across the board,” he said. “Only paying categories came under the hike purview. Even the hiked rates for ‘affordable’ sections were comparable to that prevailing in the private sector.”
Dr M S Valiathan, who was the institute director for more than a decade, said he was "saddened" by anything adverse happening to the institute. He was not posted with the current developments but was aware of the good work being done by Dr Kishore and governing body chairman Mr K M Chandrasekhar.
However, DYFI state secretary M Swaraj said that while the organisation had decided to explore new methods of protests and use of social media, it never took a decision to do away with agitations like gherao, dharna and picketing.
“DYFI organised the protest to oppose the hike in registration fee, charges for review and across-the-board hike in diagnostic procedures and surgeries,” he said. “We stood with patients. The gherao was held at the director's office, located in a different building. Our protest did not affect patients, staff or patient care activities," Mr Swaraj said.
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