Jisha Surya
Thiruvananthapuram: The once-notorious ninth ward of the general hospital here has triggered a war of tweets between Union minister of state for HRD Shashi Tharoor and marketing expert Suhel Seth.
Seth tweeted on Wednesday saying the patients in the 9th ward were locked up in inhuman conditions. Tharoor, who noticed the tweet, made a surprise visit to the ward.
The marketing expert’s tweet was to draw the attention of the media and the local MP, Tharoor, to the condition of the ward. Seth said that one of his friends, who had visited the general hospital, found the patients locked up in the ward and were treated like animals.
After his surprise visit, Tharoor tweeted that the condition of the ward was better than that of any other government hospital.
“The ‘locked’ patients are in a cell4psychiatric inmates awaiting transfer to the mental hospital. The locked cell is for their protection,” Tharoor said on Twitter. The ward has 15 nurses and eight doctors on duty, he added.
Tharoor, however, pointed out that there is only 40 beds for 84 patients.
Several of Seth’s followers on Twitter had responded to the tweet under the hash tag ‘Trivandrumshame.’
Even after Tharoor’s tweet, Seth maintained that his facts were correct. Seth, however, did not respond to TOI’s queries on the issue.
A reality check of the ward, carried out after the tweet, contradicted Seth’s tweet. The conditions of the once-pathetic ward for the destitute have improved following several news reports. The ward’s walls sported a fresh coat of paint, and the beds were covered with clean sheets.
It had been alleged earlier that patients in the ward were a neglected lot. The ward is now under CCTV surveillance, and it was learnt that the district medical officer, under specific order from the government, visited the ward every week.
Hospital sources claimed 20 more attenders were appointed to the ward in December last to take care of the patients.
Thiruvananthapuram: The once-notorious ninth ward of the general hospital here has triggered a war of tweets between Union minister of state for HRD Shashi Tharoor and marketing expert Suhel Seth.
Seth tweeted on Wednesday saying the patients in the 9th ward were locked up in inhuman conditions. Tharoor, who noticed the tweet, made a surprise visit to the ward.
The marketing expert’s tweet was to draw the attention of the media and the local MP, Tharoor, to the condition of the ward. Seth said that one of his friends, who had visited the general hospital, found the patients locked up in the ward and were treated like animals.
After his surprise visit, Tharoor tweeted that the condition of the ward was better than that of any other government hospital.
“The ‘locked’ patients are in a cell4psychiatric inmates awaiting transfer to the mental hospital. The locked cell is for their protection,” Tharoor said on Twitter. The ward has 15 nurses and eight doctors on duty, he added.
Tharoor, however, pointed out that there is only 40 beds for 84 patients.
Several of Seth’s followers on Twitter had responded to the tweet under the hash tag ‘Trivandrumshame.’
Even after Tharoor’s tweet, Seth maintained that his facts were correct. Seth, however, did not respond to TOI’s queries on the issue.
A reality check of the ward, carried out after the tweet, contradicted Seth’s tweet. The conditions of the once-pathetic ward for the destitute have improved following several news reports. The ward’s walls sported a fresh coat of paint, and the beds were covered with clean sheets.
It had been alleged earlier that patients in the ward were a neglected lot. The ward is now under CCTV surveillance, and it was learnt that the district medical officer, under specific order from the government, visited the ward every week.
Hospital sources claimed 20 more attenders were appointed to the ward in December last to take care of the patients.
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