If the rumour mills were busy after the hospitalisation of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, they have gone into a frenzy after her sudden death, for obvious reasons. It was alleged that there was lack of transparency on the part of the State government and Apollo Hospital authorities on the condition of Jayalalithaa, while she was ailing.

In this situation, an article by Dr LP Thangavelu, member, Medical Council of India, in ‘Dinamani’ daily on December 8, denounces the rumour mills and argues that there is no ground to doubt the ethical practices of medical professions who had treated Jayalalithaa.

In the article titled “Murmam Ethumillai” (No Secrets), he argues that there is no concrete proof to substantiate the claim that she had been the victim of medical negligence. Dr Thangavelu asks, “How could this argument hold water when Jayalalithaa was given the best medical care possible by a team of specialists consisting of intensivists, cardiologists, pulmonologists and endocrinologists since her admission into the Apollo Hospitals?”

Speaking to Covai Post, the doctor, who is also the recipient of Best Doctor Award from Dr MGR Medical University asked, “How can a VIP patient like Jayalalithaa not have received the best treatment possible? There is no reason to denounce the hospitals and doctors who treated her.”

A specialist medical team from Apollo and later from AIIMS, and physiotherapists from Singapore were roped in to treat the former Chief Minister, who was admitted to Apollo on September 22 for fever and dehydration. In the course of treatment, Dr Richard John Beale, an intensivist from London Bridge Hospital, too was flown into Chennai.

On November 18, Apollo Hospital Chairman Pratap C Reddy himself said that Jayalalithaa was able to breathe on her own without respiratory support and was transferred to a special room from the ICU, after the team of doctors was satisfied with her progress.

Tragically, she suffered a massive cardiac arrest, on the evening of December 4, when doctors thought that she had recovered completely. Even though, EPR was done on her and later ECMO support was given to her she had died due to underlying health problems

Ironically the doctor, whose opinion seems like a “lone voice of sanity,” is criticised for being outspoken on this issue by some opposition party members. It is learnt that he had been reviled for speaking up for the medical fraternity that he belongs to.