COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) suspended two contract supervisors on Wednesday after a patient’s son was forced to carry his 84-year-old father down from the third floor when no wheelchair was provided.
On Tuesday, V. Kalidasan brought his diabetic father, C. Vadivel, for a follow-up consultation. Doctors advised a foot amputation, after which Kalidasan struggled to move his father. He alleged that a female staff member with an empty wheelchair demanded ₹100 and later told him to wait 30 minutes. Unable to wait, he carried his father down with difficulty. Only after a bystander began recording video did the staff offer a wheelchair, but by then the two had reached their auto.
Following the incident, supervisors Esther Rani and Mani Vasagam were suspended for five days. CMCH dean M. Geethanjali said there was no conclusive proof of a staffer demanding money but announced corrective measures: a “green brigade” with four staff on standby with wheelchairs and stretchers, procurement of additional wheelchairs and trolleys, and measures to reduce patient waiting times.
Currently, the hospital has 10 wheelchairs and six stretchers allocated to its outpatient department.
