Hyderabad: G. Prakash, 23, died at Osmania General Hospital on Sunday night as no ventilator support was provided to him. Prakash’s friend Mr Rajesh said, “We wasted two hours at Gandhi. First the doctors took time to examine his condition and then they just said that the machine was not working and to go to OGH. There was no proper explanation about his injuries and what was his condition.”
Another friend of the victim, Mr B. Raju said, “We wasted another two hours at OGH and by the time we could decide what to do, he was no more. The doctors were not concerned about saving the life of the patient. They didn’t examine how serious his injuries were and what could be given till senior doctors arrived. There was no step taken to save him. Only time was wasted and we were asked to go from one place to another.”
Interestingly, there are 40 ventilators in OGH and six of them are new, which are lying idle and are on stand-by as they are used in the operation theatres. These are available at night for use in the emergency wing, but there is no proper communication between the various departments of the hospital.
A senior doctor said, “There are eight ventilators in the acute medical ward, 11 in the respiratory unit, and the others are divided among the various units. At present, 10 beds are empty in the acute medical care and there are three ventilators lying idle in that unit too. Five ventilators are old and can’t be used but have still been kept in the hospital. But the problem is there is no proper communication between the RMOs and also the emergency wing who do not discuss the situation at the ground level with each other on a daily basis. Due to this reason, patients are sent away, which is very wrong.”
Superintendent of OGH Dr G.V. Murthy was not even aware of the situation at the emergency wing and the protests that were carried out on Sunday night by Prakash’s friends.
It was only when calls were made and the situation explained that Dr Murthy said, “We have sufficient ventilators in the hospital and no patient must be sent back because of lack of a ventilator. There are too many touts on the premises and they try to take away patients to private hospitals. I am going to strictly ask all RMOs to coordinate and update each other regarding where a ventilator can be taken for an emergency patient.”
Later, however, Dr Murthy said that he had held an internal inquiry in which doctors in the emergency wing and the resident medical officer on duty stated that they had not denied ventilator to any patient. “The death of Prakash did not occur inside the hospital premises, according to the duty officers. Despite that we have asked for all the records to be checked,” he said.
While the protocol exists in hospitals, revising them from time to time is important. Also, in government hospitals, once a department is allotted a ventilator, they are not keen to give it to another department as they are scared that when a patient needs the equipment and it is not available, they will lose the patient. For these reasons, there is no clear communication from one department to another, explained hospital sources.
Gandhi Hospital superintendent Dr K.J. Reddy refused to comment on the dysfunctional CT scanner as the case was not recorded in the emergency department.
Right panel steps in, seeks explanation
The State Human Rights Commission on Monday served notice on the health principal secretary over the death of G. Prakash allegedly due to negligence. The was filed by advocate Soma Raju who stated that both Osmania and Gandhi medical failed to save the patient.
Mr Raju said, “Prakash was brought in time to the hospital but instead of attending to him the emergency wing at both Gandhi Hospital and Osmania General Hospital failed to save the patient. They did not even give him basic treatment or put him in emergency care... they sent the patient from one corner of the city to another.”
