No govt hospital will be privatised, says Kerala Health Minister

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Health Minister K Muraleedharan on Thursday stated that no hospital under his department in the state will be privatised.

Speaking to reporters, Muraleedharan said the government will not allow any private company, no matter how huge they are, to take over any hospital under it, news agency PTI reported.

“Let me assure you that no hospital under the Health Department will be privatised,” he asserted.

Regarding the strike by nurses of two private hospitals in Thrissur, the minister said that he took part in a meeting, along with Labour Minister Bindu Krishna, with the representatives of the private management and trade unions.

In the meeting, the hospital managements said that if the Minimum Wages Act is implemented, they will make changes to the salary of the nurses, he said.

“However, it will take a minimum of two months to implement it, as currently we are receiving objections regarding the legislation after it was published to invite public opinion. We told the management about the situation and asked them to hike the nurses’ salary in the interim by Rs 4,000. But they did not agree with that. Discussions are still going on,” the minister said.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that Kerala Health Minister K Muraleedharan on Monday said the state government viewed incidents of medical negligence with the utmost seriousness and will take stringent action against those found responsible. The minister said the government was committed to preventing such incidents and strengthening healthcare services in government hospitals.

Replying to a calling attention motion moved by BJP MLA V Muraleedharan in the Assembly, the minister said the government had issued strict directions to ensure that incidents of medical negligence were not repeated