Entry-point security screening will be intensified in all government medical colleges, including in Thiruvananthapuram where a youth was recently arrested for impersonating a doctor and defrauding patients.
While the incident is viewed as an isolated one, it prompted Health Minister Veena George to take stern notice and instruct the Director of Medical Education to bolster security checks at the hospitals.
The Minister ordered the heads of institutions to permit entry to employees and medical and nursing students only after examining their identity cards. The security staff must also be tasked with ensuring that the identification documents are authentic.
Caregivers
While only one caregiver will be permitted to accompany a patient, it would require permission from the doctor concerned to issue entry passes for more people.
Appealing to the public and the staff to cooperate with the security protocol, Ms. George urged patients and employees to report any suspicious movements in medical colleges to the security staff at the earliest. Such measures were inevitable at the hospitals that were frequented by several thousands of people on a daily basis.
Impersonation
The Medical College police here had arrested 22-year-old Nikhil of Poonthura, who allegedly posed as a resident doctor for nearly 10 days in the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital. During the period, he swindled huge sums from some patients after convincing them that they suffered from serious ailments.
