Published Jul 01, 2023 | 1:34 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 01, 2023 | 1:34 PM
MBBS students request for long-sleeved dress. (iStock)
Kerala Health Minister Veena George has said the request by a group of female Muslim MBBS students to wear long-sleeved scrub jackets and surgical hoods in operation theatres was not a matter that demanded a political decision.
She said the utmost priority is the safety of patients and protecting life without getting infected.
The entire system and facilities in an operation theatre are to protect the lives of patients, the minister explained.
“The issue is not a matter that demands a political decision. It is not any administration that takes decisions regarding the matters in operation theatres internationally,” she said.
Stating that the matter is technical, George further said the basis of such protocols is to avoid infection in operation theatres.
Various doctors’ outfits have already made their stand clear on the issue, she added.
A group of female Muslim MBBS students from the Government Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram recently expressed concern over not being allowed to wear hijab inside operation theatres and sought permission to don long-sleeve scrub jackets and surgical hoods at the earliest.
A woman medico, belonging to the 2020 batch, wrote a letter to principal Dr Linnette J Morris on 26 June, citing the matter. The request letter was also signed by six other female medical students from different batches of the college.
In the letter, the students complained that they were not allowed to cover their heads inside the operation theatre. “According to our religious belief, wearing hijab is mandatory for Muslim women under all circumstances,” they said.
“Long-sleeve scrub jackets and surgical hoods are available, which allow us to maintain sterile precautions as well as our hijab,” they said.
They wanted the principal to look into the matter and grant them permission to wear the same in operation theatres at the earliest.
The letter by the students was leaked from the principal’s office and found its way to social media sites. It was picked up and tweeted by several right-wing Twitter handles and went viral.
Commenting on the letter, one of the handles said: “Typical example of how some people won’t get sleep unless they infuse and insert religion in operation theatre also (sic).”
Meanwhile, the Medical College students’ union has lodged a complaint with the local police seeking an inquiry into the leakage of the students’ letter.
The union, in their complaint, alleged that a person had propagated the copy of the letter through social media, causing damage to the reputation of students, who gave the request letter to the principal, the Medical College police said.
“We directed them to hand over the complaint to the Cyber Wing of the police department,” a senior police officer said.
Speaking to South First earlier, one of the medical students who signed the letter said that wearing a hijab was a matter of personal choice and that they had written to express their concern to the college principal.
“The whole matter should have remained in the college, and could have been amicably dealt with by the principal,” she said.
“However, someone from the principal’s office took a photograph of the representation and sent it to right-wing groups. And the right-wing people posted it on social media and turned it into a controversy,” she added.
Confirming receipt of the letter, Principal Linette Morris said she explained to the students the need to follow the prescribed precautionary practices inside operation theatres, and the necessity to adhere to the current, globally-accepted dress code there.
“We cannot simply cross out the existing procedures and practices inside operation theatres. I explained to them all the problems involved in it,” the principal said.
To address the concerns of the students, Morris said she assured them she would form a committee of surgeons to look into the matter.
Dr Sulphi Noohu, IMA’s Kerala state president, said the association wanted to continue the existing practices and protocols.
“Worldwide, it is considered that a patient is the most significant person in hospitals and operation theatres. Certain internationally-accepted protocols are being followed everywhere to ensure the safety of the patients and to protect them from getting infected,” he said.
The IMA wanted all these practices and protocols to be followed without fail, Noohu added.
(With PTI inputs)
