Chennithala demands minister’s resignation citing ‘collapse’ of healthcare system

Kochi/Kottayam: Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Friday demanded the removal of health minister Veena George from her post, while stating that state's healthcare system has collapsed.Chennithala made these remarks after visiting Usha at Amrita Hospital. Usha has been enduring pain for five years after surgical scissors were left in her abdomen during a procedure. "The health minister consistently hides behind the excuse of ‘systematic errors' to evade accountability. This is unacceptable," Chennithala told reporters. He warned govt against repeating the ‘betrayal' seen in the Harshina case, where the victim received a mere Rs 2 lakh after spending nearly Rs 50 lakh on treatment. He demanded that state govt bear the full cost of Usha's medical expenses and provide immediate fair compensation. The senior leader further highlighted the ‘frightening' condition of govt hospitals, specifically Alappuzha medical college, citing acute shortages of doctors, staff and essential medicines. He accused govt of victimising medical professionals who dared to point out these deficiencies. Youth Congress workers storm doctors' news conferenceYouth Congress activists on Friday stormed a news conference held by doctors at Alappuzha medical college hospital (MCH) to address the controversy over the alleged medical negligence at the MCH.The protest, led by state working president Binu Chulliyil, secretary Vishakh Pathiyoor, and district president M P Praveen, took place on the dais where the doctors were seated. The police removed them by force.After the activists were removed from the second floor, they continued their protest on the staircase, blocking the path of patients and staff. Although the police tried to remove them again, the activists staged a sit-in in front of the MCH building and blocked a police vehicle.During the removal, Youth Congress Puthanangadi constituency president Neenu and Alappuzha constituency secretary Pratheeksha were allegedly injured. Aryad constituency president Manoj also sustained minor injuries after allegedly being hit by the police vehicle. They were admitted to the hospital. A police officer also suffered injuries to the leg.Youth Congress's Chulliyil, Praveen, Pathiyoor, Ananthanarayanan, Shahul Puthiyaparambil, KSU's Vishnu Prasad, Rino Booto, Thaneesh T, and Ansil Punnapra were remanded.