The superintendent of the Government Tribal Speciality Hospital at Kottathara in Attappady has been transferred. Dr Prebhudas, who has been heading the hospital, the lone improved medical facility in the tribal region, has been shifted to the Thiroorangadi Taluk Hospital as its superintendent. The health department has cited administerial conveniences as the reason for the transfer. However, action against the doctor was much anticipated after he made public remarks against Health Minister Veena George and corruption allegations against local CPM leaders recently.
Dr Muhammed Abdul Rahman will replace Prebhudas as the superintendent of Kottathara hospital.
Conflict between Prebhudas and local CPM leaders came to the front recently in the wake of the fresh reports of infant deaths among the tribal population of Attappady.
The minister had made a surprise visit to some tribal settlements in the region and the Kottathara hospital on December 4. It became controversial after Prebhudas, who is also the tribal health nodal officer of Attappady, alleged that he was kept out of the hospital deliberately during the minister's visit. Prebhudas said he was summoned to Thiruvananthapuram for a meeting over the recent infant deaths the same day the minister visited the hospital. However, there was no such meeting scheduled, the doctor told media.
The episode led to a war of words between the doctor and the local CPM leaders with each accusing the other of corruption in the management of the hospital. Prebhudas made a serious allegation that two members of the Hospital Management Committee who accompanied the minister during her visit had demanded bribe from some companies for purchase of hospital equipment.
In return, CPM area committee secretary C P Babu made pointed charges against the doctor and some of his close friends. The DYFI, the youth wing of the CPM, had demanded a probe into the alleged mismanagement of the hospital in a letter written to the chief minister and the health minister back in July.
The Agali Block Panchayat, under which falls the hospital, had also demanded a Vigilance inquiry into the misappropriation of funds in the hospital.
Prebhudas has denied all allegations and welcomed any probe. The award-winning medical practitioner, often credited for the management of the Kottathara hospital, has spent much of his career in the Attappady region.
The health concerns of the tribal population of Attappady became a talking point once again recently following reports of a series of infant deaths. This year alone, nine infant deaths have been reported from various tribal settlements in the region.
The Kerala Government Medical Officers Association had recently come out against holding the doctors and staff of the hospital alone responsible for the health problems of Attappady. In a letter to the state government, the association made a number of suggestions to improve the facilities of the hospital; the most important being a demand to increase the staff strength suitable for 100 beds. The Kottathara hospital admits around 125 in-patients on a daily basis.
