Kerala govt hospital employees to be trained amid complaints of poor behaviour and assistance

Ottapalam (Kerala): The Kerala Health Department has ordered mandatory training for non-medical staff across government hospitals, including medical colleges, to improve patient-friendly services. The move follows repeated complaints from patients and their bystanders about poor behaviour, lack of assistance and unsatisfactory interactions with hospital employees.

The training will cover patient care, effective communication about illnesses and hospital services, public interaction, professional ethics, courteous behaviour and grievance redressal. Medical officers have been excluded from the programme.

Training to cover staff across government hospitals

The programme will be conducted for employees working in medical colleges, district hospitals, general hospitals, women and children's hospitals, model hospitals and taluk hospitals.

The Apex Trauma and Emergency Learning Centre has been entrusted with preparing the training curriculum and conducting sessions for medical college staff. Four employees from each medical college will undergo training initially. They will then train other staff members within their respective institutions.

For district hospitals, general hospitals and taluk hospitals, selected employees will be trained by the Institute of Health and Family Welfare. Those who complete the programme will subsequently train colleagues at the district and institutional levels.

The Health Department has directed that training be conducted in batches of 10 so that routine hospital services are not disrupted. The Director of Medical Education and the Director of Health Services will oversee the implementation, with the entire exercise to be completed within two months. 

Security staff must attend training

The department has made the programme compulsory for all security personnel, including permanent employees, contract workers and guards deployed through private security agencies.

Security personnel who fail to attend the training will not be allowed to continue in their duties.

The directive follows frequent complaints that the conduct of security staff in many hospitals has often led to disputes with patients and their attendants. The mandatory training is intended to address these recurring concerns and improve the overall experience of people seeking treatment at government hospitals.