Eleven doctors censured for medical council rule violation
They featured in an advertisement of a corporate hospital

30/01/2020, C. MAYA,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The Travancore Cochin Council of Modern Medicine (TCMC) has censured 11 doctors registered under it for violating the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 by allowing themselves to be featured prominently in the advertisement of a corporate hospital.

The incident is said to be unprecedented in the history of the TCMC.

It was in May last year that Aster MIMS, Kozhikode, brought out a newspaper advertisement prominently featuring some of its doctors.

The matter was brought to the attention of the Registrar of the TCMC for “appropriate action” by K.V. Babu, a Kerala-based physician and public health activist.

Against Code of Ethics

Dr. Babu had taken exception to the advertisement featuring the doctors because Section 6.1 of the Code of Ethics states that “...a physician shall not make use of him/her (or his/her name) as subject of any form or manner of advertising or publicity through any mode either alone or in conjunction with others... as to invite attention to him or to his professional position, skill, qualification...”

Moreover, the TCMC itself had in 2018 brought out a circular that the council will be forced to take suo motu action against doctors if, in violation of the Code of Ethics, they display their photographs in any hospital bill board or advertisement.

Following Dr. Babu’s complaint, the Ethics Committee of the TCMC had sought an explanation from the doctors.

‘Used without consent’

The doctors, while apologising for the ethics violation, said their names and photographs had been used by the hospital without their knowledge or consent. Following the recommendation of the ethics committee, the TCMC has now closed the matter after issuing a censure notice to all 11 doctors.

“I am happy that the council took cognisance of the complaint and has exercised its powers properly by censuring the doctors. The Code of Ethics is binding on the doctors alone and not hospitals,” Dr. Babu said.

Madurai Kamaraj University to re-advertise for Registrar post
Syndicate members could not arrive at a decision

30/01/2020, SANJANA GANESH

Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) will call for a re-advertisement to the post of Registrar of the university as all candidates have been found unsuitable by the Syndicate, said Vice-Chancellor M. Krishnan here on Wednesday.

This announcement was preceded by a day-long interview process where an eight-member selection committee consisting of experts interviewed 16 candidates.

After the interview, the experts met with members of the Syndicate to decide on the next Registrar. They could, however, not arrive at a conclusion.

The Vice-Chancellor, who headed the selection committee, said though all candidates had sound academic credentials, many were unable to answer questions on the university’s administration. “Most candidates did not know details of statutes and acts of the university.”

A senior official from the university privy to the syndicate meeting said candidates were unaware of the process of applying for the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) ranking. They were also unaware of the events happening at the university. “Most were ill prepared,” he added.

The re-advertisement process comes after initial scrutiny of applications were completed in July last. Since then, there have been at least three occasions when the interviews were postponed.

Mr. Krishnan said each time the interview was postponed, it was due to administrative delays. “We also have important people in the panel. The decision must be agreed upon by the Syndicate. Following due process causes procedural delays.”

A senior member of the Syndicate said that apart from discussions regarding the registrar post, the unauthorised entry of a distance education centre owner in to the room of Controller of Examination O. Ravi was also discussed. “We have decided to seek legal opinion and then proceed,” the member said.

Medical service

With the Syndicate’s approval, MKU would start an emergency medical service on the campus in a couple of weeks. Any victim of road accidents would be treated at the medical facility first. A ‘108’ ambulance would also be stationed on the campus, Mr. Krishnan said.

‘University protests shameful’

30/01/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,KOLKATA

Describing the developments at the convocation of Calcutta University on January 28, which he was forced to leave owing to protests by students, as “shameful and unprecedented in the 163-year-old history of the institution”, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said that he was no Nero who would play the fiddle when such incidents occurred and “the State is held hostage by a few”.

“Can we afford to forget what happened on January 28? It is not a political but an existential question … Can malicious elements be allowed to hijack academic institutions?” he asked.

SC dismisses Nirbhaya convict’s plea

Bench says quick decision by the President does not mean there was non-application of mind

30/01/2020, KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL,NEW DELHI

Nirbhaya case convict Mukesh’s challenge against the President’s rejection of his mercy petition was on Wednesday dismissed by a three-judge Bench led by Justice R. Banumathi.

The court said a quick decision by the President did not mean there was non-application of mind.

“The quick consideration of the mercy petition and swift rejection of the same cannot be a ground for judicial review of the order passed under Article 72/161 [on mercy petitions by President/Governor] of the Constitution. Nor does it suggest that there was pre-determined mind and non-application of mind,” Justice Banumathi, who wrote the judgment, held.

The Bench, including Justices Ashok Bhushan and A.S. Bopanna, said the suffering experienced by death row convicts could not be a ground for commutation of the death penalty.

Mukesh had alleged solitary confinement and abuse at the hands of the jailors and fellow prisoners during his incarceration.

But the court said, “The alleged sufferings in the prison cannot be a ground for judicial review of the executive order passed under Article 72 of the Constitution rejecting the petitioner’s mercy petition.”

The court, after perusing the files containing the correspondence and official notings in original handed over to it by the Union Home Ministry, concluded that all the relevant documents and records were considered before arriving at the decision to dismiss the mercy plea. It was not necessary that each and every material relied upon by the petitioner-accused should have been placed before the President, it said.

100 sovereigns stolen from doctor’s house, help held

Burglars walk away with 90 sovereigns from engineer’s house

30/01/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,CHENNAI

The Thiruvanmiyur police have arrested a domestic help in connection with the theft of 100 sovereigns of gold jewellery from a doctor’s house.

The police said that Raja Suruleeswaran, 52, a resident of Kalakshetra Colony, lodged a complaint with the Thiruvanmiyur police, alleging that over 100 sovereigns of gold jewellery were missing from a steel almirah in his house.

A special police team nabbed Mala, 47, the domestic help who was working in the house for the past three years. During interrogation, she admitted to having stolen 30 sovereigns, the police said.

Further investigation is on to recover the rest of the jewellery.

90 sovereigns

In a separate incident, unidentified persons stole 90 sovereigns of gold jewellery from a civil engineer’s house in Valasaravakkam.

The police said that the complainant, Arumugam, 52, a civil engineer, resides in Radha Avenue, and runs a construction firm. On Tuesday night, he and his family members had gone to a restaurant after locking the house. On return, they found the lock and almirah broken open.

On being informed, Assistant Commissioner of Valasarakkam Mahimaiveeran rushed to the spot and held an enquiry.

The family claimed that over 90 sovereigns of jewellery and cash were stolen from the house.

The police have intensified investigation after scrutiny of CCTV camera footage and collection of fingerprints.

Centre advises against travel to China; IndiGo, AI cut services
Beijing’s permission sought to operate 2 flights to bring back Indians from Hubei

30/01/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT ,NEW DELHI

All ready: The new coronavirus isolation ward at TB and Chest Diseases Hospital in Puducherry on Wednesday. M. Samraj The Hindu

The Union Health Ministry on Wednesday advised people to refrain from travelling to China in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, as the death toll there rose to 133 with nearly 1,500 new cases.

The fresh advisory came hours after a communication from the Ministry said, “All non-essential travel to China should be avoided.”

The Government of India has sought the Chinese authorities’ permission to operate two flights to bring back Indians from Hubei Province. Meanwhile, two Indian carriers that fly to China — IndiGo and Air India — on Wednesday announced suspension of most of their flights to that country.

IndiGo announced that it was suspending its Delhi-Chengdu and Bengaluru-Hong Kong flights with effect from February 1. However, it will continue to operate the Kolkata-Guangzhou flight. The airline said it was taking precautions for its crew to ensure that they don’t have a layover in China and can return on the same flight.

Air India too cancelled its Mumbai-Delhi-Shanghai flights with effect from January 31, though it will continue to fly to Hong Kong.

Screening of ship passengers and crew for the virus at ports in the country was also initiated.

Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong tweeted, “The World Health Organisation (WHO) does not recommend the evacuation of nationals, and called on the international community to remain calm and not overreact. The WHO is confident in China’s epidemic prevention and control ability.”

Govt to help qualified nurses find jobs in UK

To Be Given IELTS Training Free Of Cost

Shanmughasundaram.J@timesgroup.com

Chennai:30.01.2020

The state will help find qualified nurses, doctors and paramedics from private sectors in the state find jobs in hospitals in the United Kingdom through their national health system (NHS).

The Overseas Manpower Corporation Limited (OMC) of the state government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Health Education England to recruit qualified nurses under their National Health Service (NHS). The MoU was signed two weeks ago.

The initiative of the OMC is aimed at generating employment and creating opportunities for Tamil Nadu nurses to undergo training in state of the art healthcare facilities. When these nurses return to the state after their service, they would highly trained and add value to the healthcare system of the state, officials say.

“There is a huge demand for qualified nurses in the UK. They are recruiting around 5,000 nurses every year. We want to generate employment for nurses working in the private sector. It resulted in the MoU that will be effective for three years,” said chairman and managing director of OMCL, Dharmendra Pratap Yadav. Many nurses working in the private sector apply for jobs in hospitals abroad as they get better salaries and training.

OMCL will send at least 500 nurses every year. “We are also planning to recruit doctors and paramedics from the private sector and send them to the UK,” he added.

The agency has tiedup with the British Council in Chennai for training the nurses, who have been shortlisted for grade 7 of International English Language Testing System (IELTS). “Language is a barrier for several qualified nurses working here. So, we conduct an interview to select candidates, who are able to converse in English. They will be registered for the IELTS course. It will be offered free of cost,” he said.

After they clear the IELTS test and the computer-based test, they would be appointed in various hospitals in the UK through the NHS. The state health the department has also contemplating to ink a pact with HEE to commence an exchange programme, which would help the doctors and nurses in the government sector to work in the UK and get exposure to the international standard of healthcare. In October last year, a team of HEE visited TN and held meeting with the health department officials.