Palaniswami cited allegations that a child was wrongly treated for rabies when taken to the government hospital in Kanyakumari for fever.
Published Aug 16, 2023 | 11:51 AM ⚊ Updated Aug 16, 2023 | 11:51 AM
Palaniswami chides TN Health Minister Subramanian as sports coach. (Wikimedia)
Former chief minister of Tamil Nadu and leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami flayed the DMK regime for alleged negligence in treating patients in government hospitals and demanded that Health Minister Ma Subramanian fully focus on his work to ensure proper care.
Palaniswami, also the AIADMK general secretary, on Tuesday, 15 August, cited allegations that a 3-year-old child was wrongly treated for rabies in July when taken to the government medical college hospital in Kanyakumari for fever, and quoting media reports said the boy is now doing well following treatment in a private facility in Kerala.
He demanded action against those responsible for such “wrongs.”
The former chief minister sarcastically said Subramanian does not find enough time to check if there is sufficient stock of medicine in government hospitals.
“It is doubtful whether he is a health minister to protect people’s welfare or a minister for developing sports,” he said in a statement. Palaniswami added that though Chief Minister MK Stalin’s son Udhayanidhi is the sports minister, Subramanian is functioning as a “sports coach”.
Since the health minister did not pay attention to his department, people are suffering in view of the insufficiency of state hospitals in providing care.
“At the least from now on, the health minister should fully focus on his department and take necessary steps to facilitate appropriate treatment to patients visiting government hospitals.”
Subramanian dismissed Palaniswami’s allegation of negligence and told reporters in Chennai that the child was treated at the Kanyakumari hospital, and later the parents went to Kerala. Thousands of people hailing from other states visited government hospitals in Tamil Nadu for treatment.
He added, “Of the about 17,000-18,000 patients treated as outpatients every day at the Rajiv Gandhi hospital in Chennai, about 10-15 percent of them are from outside of Tamil Nadu, belonging to states including those in northern parts of the country.”
On the former chief minister’s jibe that he was working like a “sports coach,” he said the leader of the Opposition has admitted the truth. Subramanian said he devoted two hours every day to his early morning (4 am to 6 am) workout.
In all 38 districts, an 8-km walking pathway is being set up. Currently, only in Tokyo, there is an 8-kilometre “health walk” track, and this initiative of the Tamil Nadu government had already been announced in the budget.
The minister added, “All people are appreciating this. I am happy that he has said I am a sports coach.”
The health minister, listing his departmental work, challenged Palaniswami to spell out if the health minister (C Vijayabaskar) during the AIADMK regime had completed or implemented even half of the work he has accomplished over the past two years. The DMK government assumed office in May 2021.
The AIADMK leader also made other accusations, and Subramanian sought to refute the Opposition leader. Palaniswami referred to recent instances like the amputation of an arm of a toddler in a state facility and said such was the “apathy” in government hospitals in the DMK regime.
The government and doctors had repeatedly asserted that the amputation was a life-saving measure. Palaniswami alleged that due to “wrong treatment”, the child’s arm was cut, and subsequently the toddler died.
“If a person goes (to a government hospital) for phlegm, he\she is given an injection for a dog bite. If a person really seeks treatment for a dog bite, there is no injection available to treat it,” Palaniswami alleged.
In a sharp rebuttal, Subramanian said, “If you (Palaniswami) are bitten by a dog anywhere, you may please avail treatment in the government primary health centres.”
“In all the 2,286 primary health centres, appropriate vaccine and medical care facilities are available for snake and dog bite patients. However, during the AIADMK regime, such care was provided only in large government hospitals and not in primary centres,” the minister said.
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