Months after the controversy of a woman allegedly being denied treatment for intrauterine foetal death by a woman doctor at the Government Hospital in Udumalpet, District Collector S. Vineeth has ordered the doctor to return the money that she allegedly accepted for treating the same patient at a private hospital.
P. Premalatha, Joint Director of Medical and Rural Health Services for Tiruppur district, said on Sunday that the order was issued in the last week of December 2021. The Health Department would follow up on whether the woman doctor had returned the money and action would be initiated if she failed to do so as per the directions of the Collector, Dr. Premalatha said.
The controversy involved Maruthamuthu of Karatholuvu near Madathukulam alleging on social media platforms that his pregnant wife was admitted at Udumalpet GH in September 2021, where the doctors diagnosed that the foetus had died. The woman doctor, who was working at the GH, allegedly did not provide the required treatment to remove the foetus for four days. He then admitted his wife to a private hospital in Udumalpet, where the same doctor, who worked as a consultant there, carried out the procedure and accepted fees of ₹37,000.
Revenue Divisional Officer (Udumalpet) C. Geetha carried out an inquiry on this allegation and had submitted the report to Mr. Vineeth in October 2021.
Dr. Premalatha said the woman doctor had been transferred to the Nilgiris district and the issue had been escalated to the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services for further action.
