Dr Haris Hassan Chirackal, head of the department of urology at the Thiruvanathapuram Government Medical College, turned a whistleblower of sorts overnight when he highlighted in a social media post back in June alleged gaps in public healthcare in Kerala and inadequacies in medical services for poor patients at his hospital.
Dr Chirackal narrated how alleged scarcity of amenities, quality surgical tools and medicines hampered services. He claimed he had to postpone surgeries due to lack of functional surgical equipment.
Last month, the director of medical education issued him a show-cause notice for violating service rules and going public with his grievances. Looking back at the controversy, Dr Chirackal, 56, told INDIA TODAY: “I raised the issue on social media after several requests and reminders to the authorities were ignored. I never intended to damage the image of the government or the health department.”
Dr Chirackal’s criticism on social media took political hue as the Opposition in the state used it to accuse the Pinarayi Vijayan government of failures in the health sector. Vijayan himself ticked off the doctor for what the chief minister said were false claims.
Dr Chirackal apologised to the chief minister but stuck to his comments. Appearing before a probe committee, he explained in detail the...
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