Nedumangad, Oct 2: A 21-year-old woman sustained minor injuries on Thursday morning after a concrete slab collapsed at the Nedumangad district hospital. The injured has been identified as Noufiya Noushad of Riyas Manzil, Shantigiri Anandapuram, who had accompanied her grandfather, B Fasaluddin, visiting the hospital for back pain treatment.
Incident Details: The mishap occurred while they were waiting at the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PMR) outpatient section, when pieces of concrete fell on Noufiya’s left arm and back, causing minor injuries.
Immediate Response: The PMR OP unit was shifted to the skin OP section. An X-ray revealed no major complications, but Noufiya had to get the scan done outside as the hospital’s machine was non-functional. She received ₹700 reimbursement from the hospital for the test but had to buy medicines externally.
Concerns Over Public Health Infrastructure: The incident has renewed concerns over the state of public health infrastructure in Kerala. On July 3, a 56-year-old woman, Bindu, died after a building collapsed at Kottayam Medical College Hospital. In September, a caregiver, Kochumol (50), was injured when concrete fell from a ward ceiling in the same hospital.
Survey Findings: A recent Health Department survey found 225 buildings across 134 government hospitals in Kerala — ranging from primary health centres to district and general hospitals — to be structurally unsafe and at risk of collapse.
Patient Complaints: Patients and caregivers continue to face risks from deteriorating infrastructure and lack of functional medical equipment, highlighting urgent safety and operational gaps in government hospitals.
Call for Action: The repeated incidents have raised demands for prompt safety audits, repairs, and monitoring, to prevent further accidents and ensure patient safety in public healthcare facilities.
