Health Minister K Muraleedharan on Monday directed all government hospitals in the state to clearly display the details of doctors available at each facility. The names of the available doctors, along with their OP days and timings, must be clearly displayed, he said.

Notably, the move comes days after a sick child was turned away from Thodupuzha District Hospital, citing the lack of doctors. The child's parents subsequently took her to Kottayam Medical College for treatment. The incident occurred during the Health Minister's visit to the hospital earlier this month.

Moreover, complaints regarding the functioning of government health institutions have been frequently reported, with the public flagging the absence of doctors during OP hours and patients being forced to wait for long periods.

Muraleedharan has directed the Health Department to ensure that information about doctors is prominently displayed at all government health institutions, from primary health centres to taluk headquarters hospitals.

The displayed information should include the number of sanctioned doctor posts at each institution, the number of existing vacancies, and the OP and consultation timings of each doctor. The information should be updated at regular intervals whenever there is a change.

The minister instructed the Principal Secretary of the Health Department to take urgent steps to implement the directive across all government health institutions. The move aims to improve transparency and accountability of healthcare services in the state, he said, adding that it would also help patients to have clear information about the availability and timings of doctors.

Hospitals have also been directed to display the contact details of the concerned Deputy District Medical Officer (Vigilance) as part of the grievance redressal mechanism. This will allow the public to report issues such as shortage of doctors and doctors failing to report for duty on time to the appropriate authorities.

The Principal Secretary has been tasked with ensuring strict implementation of the directives and taking necessary action wherever required. "Ensuring timely treatment for patients is the responsibility of the government. This measure has been introduced in the wake of lapses in ensuring this at present," Muraleedharan said.