Sting reveals murky side of Thrissur medical college

THRISSUR: A group of youngsters claims to have exposed the corruption in the government medical college hospital here through  a sting operation.  As per the visuals presented here on  Saturday, an orthopaedic surgeon asked  a ‘patient,’  who feigned injury on the leg,  to put bandage  after an  X-ray was taken and examined.   Activist Somdev Rajan of Chiyaram, Thrissur,  who conducted the sting operation,  said that he had been receiving complaints from several patients about the maladministration and corruption  in the MCH and about some  doctors making  patients buy expensive medicines.

“A team of 15 persons was  involved in the operations.  Three of the patients who approached  orthopaedic surgeon Vineesh Senan   at his OP at the MCH  on October 4 feigned injury. He asked them to take medicines costing Rs 350 to Rs 600. A man who feigned  severe pain on his leg was first asked to get an X-ray of his leg.  The doctor later told  him that he needed rest as  there was a hairline fracture. The doctor  also  marked it on the X-ray. Later, the patient was asked to put on bandage and buy medicines worth  Rs 600,” said Mr Somdev, who presented the visuals.

The same patient approached another  orthopaedic surgeon  who issued a no-bone injury certificate (NBI) to the ‘patient,’  said  Mr Somdev who works as the secretary of the Thrissur Town Council of CMP (LDF). He said that the visuals of the sting were handed over to  city  police commissioner J. Himendranath  for further action.  Meanwhile, Dr Vineesh Senan said that he had been in service for 13 years and works at his OP from 8 a.m. to  p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays.  He treats  nearly 200 patients a day. “The claims of those who did the sting are baseless and I have always shown my commitment to the poor patients. I am not sure whether the X-ray shown to me by the ‘patient’ was genuine,” he said.