Thiruvananthapuram: In another case of callousness in government hospitals in Kerala, a patient at Thiruvananthapuram’s Government Medical College, reported missing by his relatives, was actually trapped inside a lift in the orthopedics department for two days and nights.
Raveendran Nair, 59, entered the lift on Saturday at noon and could not come out. He desperately banged the lift doors, called the emergency numbers in the lift, and also pressed the emergency button multiple times. But nobody turned up.
With no technician available on Sunday, he was found in a traumatic condition only when the technician came to maintain the lift on Monday morning.
Speaking to the media, he said he spent two agonizing days in the lift and almost became unconscious due to hunger and thirst. He had visited the hospital to treat his backache. When he entered a lift under maintenance, it got stuck midway. “Later, after some time, I lost track of time inside the lift. This morning, an operator came, and I pressed the alarm. We both forcefully opened the door from both sides, and I jumped out of it,” he told the media.
He also said that there was no board or any kind of signage to convey that the lift was not working and was under maintenance. As he frantically attempted to call someone, Nair’s phone fell and got damaged, rendering him incommunicado.
Missing Person Report Filed
Concerned for his whereabouts, his family had filed a missing person report with the police on Sunday. Hospital authorities confirmed that the lift was undergoing maintenance during the period Nair was trapped. There was no attempt on the part of the authorities to check if anybody used the lift.
Two lift operators and a duty sergeant were suspended on the orders of Health Minister Veena George. The Minister had asked the Director of Medical Education to inquire into the incident and submit a report.
Meanwhile, Opposition leader VD Satheesan took the minister to task and said: “The minister (Veena George) has no time to rectify the pathetic conditions in hospitals, but has all the time to garland and welcome criminals into the CPM party.”
Veena George had recently run into controversy when she welcomed a KAAPA (Kerala Antisocial Activities (Prevention) Act) accused into the CPM by garlanding him.