Former Kerala chief minister and Congress veteran Oommen Chandy was admitted to a hospital with suspected pneumonia on the night of Monday, February 6. This came after a petition signed by his brother Alex V Chandy and 41 relatives, alleging that he was being denied adequate medical care, was submitted to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday morning. On Tuesday, Health Minister Veena George visited the leader at the private hospital in Neyyattinkara of Thiruvananthapuram where he is being treated, and met doctors and relatives. Following her visit, Veena George told the media that a medical board has been constituted at the hospital which will oversee the treatment of the 79-year-old Congress veteran.
The Health Department constituted a six-member medical board composed of expert doctors from various departments to oversee the treatment of the former chief minister. The board will review his health conditions and treatment and communicate with the doctors of the private hospital where the veteran Congress leader is currently under treatment. After her visit, the Health MInister had held a discussion with the Chief Minister.
The health condition of the two-time former chief minister of the state is now stable. "He has a slight fever and infection, and is on oxygen support to put him at ease. His condition is stable. As he is a bit restless, he has been sedated. Things are fine at the moment. Everything should be fine with him very soon," a source reportedly told IANS. However, doctors have advised him to undergo further treatment for his throat cancer without delay. Cancer treatment can be resumed once his fever subsides. When the fever subsides, he will need to be taken to a hospital where treatment is available for throat cancer.
He was supposed to return to Bengaluru for further cancer treatment, but had not gone. Following this, a controversy erupted when his younger brother Alex and other relatives and close aides sent a memorandum seeking the intervention of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to ensure that proper medical care is given to the ailing leader. In the light of the controversy, Oommen Chandy’s close aide and veteran Congress leader AK Antony enquired about his health on Monday and advised immediate attention by a team of doctors. It was following his visit that the leader was shifted to the hospital.
With inputs from IANS