Kerala health minister Veena George leaves hospital at 4am in car

Kozhikode: Health minister Veena George, who was injured during KSU's black flag protest at Kannur railway station on Wednesday and undergoing treatment at Pariyaram Medical College, was discharged from the hospital early on Friday morning. She left the hospital in a car at 4am. The decision to discharge her was taken at an online meeting of the medical board on Thursday night.The hospitals' medical bulletin at 3pm on Thursday had said that she was not fit enough to travel and would continue in the ICU. It had said that George was in severe pain as discs were compressing her cervical nerve roots at two places. Congress activists questioned her discharge and long-distance travel when the medical board had said this.KSU state vice-president Mohammed Shammas asked how a patient with serious injuries could be discharged and allowed to travel in a car. "It shows that her injury allegation is false," he said, adding that ICU protocols were violated when nurses took a selfie with George and shared it on social media."Discharging a patient who has serious neck injury, with pain radiating from her neck to arms and sending the person from Kannur to Thiruvananthapuram by car – without even providing an ambulance – is shocking. The minister should order an inquiry into this lapse," wrote Congress leader V T Balaram on Facebook. Hospital sources said George's condition had improved and she had requested a discharge.Nurse Smitha PC justified taking a selfie with George saying they were only reassuring the minister who was enduring physical and mental pain. "That photo holding the minister close was taken in that context. It was a way of showing our support. She interacted with us like a sister. Within a few hours, we felt close to her. That is why this photo was taken," she said.Meanwhile, the team probing the case formally requested RPF to give the camera footage from the station's entrance area where the protest took place.Min at Pathanamthitta homeThe minister's office informed that she is resting at her residence in Pathanamthitta and her scheduled programmes have been postponed till Monday. Doctors advised four days of complete rest, gave her medicine and recommended a follow-up at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.