Tirunelveli MCH doctor removed for falsely implicating patient
Doctor Removed
Tirunelveli: A doctor at Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital (TvMCH), accused of fabricating medical records by falsely stating that the road accident victim was intoxicated at the time of the incident, has been removed from his position.
The action followed a petition filed by the patient, Bala Sundararajan, to the District Collector, Dr. K.P. Karthikeyan, and the Chief Minister’s Special Cell, seeking action against the doctor.
Earlier, TvMCH Dean Revathi Balan had ordered an inquiry into the allegations, after which the hospital authorities removed the doctor on July 14, reports The Hindu. However, the alleged incident occurred in February, meaning it took the hospital administration five months to take action.
Medical Dialogues had reported that the patient alleged the cover-up was intended to protect a health department staff member involved in the accident. According to him, the attending doctor falsely recorded in the medical report that his "breath smelled of alcohol," which led the police to register a case against him instead of the actual perpetrator. Sundararajan denied being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.
He also alleged that he demanded his blood test report to prove his innocence, but the hospital authorities refused to hand over the report. Despite filing an RTI application, he alleged that the hospital administration refused to provide him with his blood test results.
According to the patient's statements, he was seriously injured in an accident on August 26, 2024, when a car driven by a health department staffer struck him. He was admitted to TvMCH in critical condition but was later transferred to a private hospital in Madurai due to alleged inadequate treatment.
Sundararaj alleged that the doctor took advantage of his ‘near-death’ condition to help the health staff, who work at a primary health centre. He further stated that after the TvMCH doctors allegedly failed to treat him properly, he was shifted to a private hospital in Madurai, where he remained unconscious for several weeks.
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