Kerala: Negligent authorities cause breach of protocol at Medical College Hospital

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a serious breach of Covid-19 prevention protocol, scores of candidates turned up and milled around the Medical College Hospital (MCH) on Thursday for the interview scheduled for the post of cleaning staff. District disaster management authority (DDMA) meeting held after the incident has mooted the need to issue a strong advisory for the MCH — the major Covid hospital in the district — on maintaining Covid-19 protocol.Health Minister Veena George blatantly condemned the incident and said that it was a mistake to have scheduled an interview during lockdown. She directed the health secretary to probe the lapses and file a report.
Amidst tall claims by the district administration, city police and health department on the need to ensure Covid preventive measures, the authorities threw caution to the wind and made hundreds of people wait for hours without being able to adhere to social distancing norms. The interview was apparently held for 30 vacancies for cleaning staff in the wake of upgradation of critical care facilities at the MCH.
The sudden crowding in front of the hospital also blocked the way of ambulances which were headed towards casualty with patients requiring emergency medical care. Some of the candidates told the media that they were told that the interview would be held at 11am but authorities started issuing tokens since early morning. The incident also caught the city police unawares since the police were not intimated about the interview.
The police received information from intelligence around the breach of lockdown protocol by around 10.30am. The manpower had to be redeployed from adjacent vehicle checking points to the MCH and the situation was managed within 30 minutes.
The police have sent notices to several people who violated social distancing norms. Earlier similar crowding had happened at Jimmy George Stadium during the vaccination drive and both the health team and district administration officials found themselves in a spot of bother. A tired police force being forced to take up crowd and queue management due to the negligent attitude of MCH authorities and district administration has infuriated the police officers.
After waiting for long hours and being exposed to possible risk of contracting Covid-19, the candidates were told that only those who received tokens may stay back and others could leave. With the crowding at the MCH turning into a contentious issue, the authorities, who had till then remained insensitive to the risks and the candidates who were put through so much misery, suddenly called off the interview and said new dates will be announced later.
The sectoral magistrates apparently deployed to regulate such situations were not known to have intervened in the issue. The collectorate also did not issue any statement despite such a risky situation arising in the city where lockdown has been extended. MCH authorities did not comment on the issue. Principal Sara Varghese and superintendent Sharmad did not respond to calls. A statement issued by the Medical College said that an interview was held earlier however none of the candidates turned up for the job following which another interview was scheduled on Thursday.