Kannur: In a bid at damage control, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday clung to his government’s favourite tagline -- Kerala as No. 1 in healthcare -- while all but brushing aside the serious allegation raised by Dr Haris Chirackal, Head of Urology at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital, about a crippling shortage of surgical equipment.

Addressing a regional review meeting in Kannur, the Chief Minister vouched for Dr Haris's integrity, only to suggest that the senior surgeon may have unknowingly served the interests of "forces seeking to destabilise Kerala" by taking his grievance public. "No one is saying that the individual mentioned in the news related to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College is a wrongdoer. In fact, he is a government official known for his dedication, integrity, and sincerity," said Vijayan. "However, it is unfortunate that such a person has now become the reason for misrepresenting what is arguably the best healthcare system in India."

The warning was thinly veiled: "It’s unclear whether he intended this outcome, but it should serve as a lesson for all of us."

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Dr Chirackal's lesson was pretty inconvenient for the LDF-led state government. In a Facebook post, the professor said three out of four surgeries in his department were being postponed due to a lack of basic surgical equipment. He said he had alerted the Health Minister’s office eight months ago, and received no response.

The post went viral. The opposition latched on, accusing the government of relying on glossy PR to cover up the shortage of staff, equipment and medicines in government hospitals and medical colleges.

A day after the Facebook post, Dr Chirackal repeated his allegations to the press directly. He said patients were being asked to buy their own surgical materials and equipment. The shortages were so severe, that he had even considered resigning.

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The government quickly denied the crisis. Director of Medical Education in charge, Dr K V Vishwanathan, said, except for one, no surgery was postponed because of equipment shortage, and floated the idea of disciplinary action against Dr Chirackal. But the senior doctor got support from across political lines and from the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association, forcing the government to climb down.

At the Kannur review meeting -- which covered four districts -- Vijayan said: "No system can claim to be perfect. Our medical colleges perform highly complex surgeries, and the government has ensured that the necessary infrastructure and equipment are in place for them. At times, some specific equipment might be temporarily unavailable, but that is not a permanent situation. It is usually resolved quickly with urgent procurement," he said.

He said an official explanation had already been given and warned again: "If dissatisfaction remains despite that, and it is communicated in a way that allows forces seeking to destabilise Kerala to exploit it, then it will unfairly damage all the good work we are doing. This is something everyone should take note of."

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The review meeting for Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Wayanad districts was held at Krishna Menon Memorial Government Women's College, Kannur. It was attended by Ministers Ramachandran Kadannappally, K Krishnankutty, P A Mohammed Riyas, M B Rajesh, O R Kelu, Chief Secretary Dr A Jayathilak, department secretaries, directors, and the district collectors of the four districts.

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