Patients lie on road, negligence slur on hospital

West Bengal's largest government hospital, SSKM hospital on AJC Bose Road in Kolkata, came in news once again for the wrong reasons today.

The hospital, which has had many reports of negligence of patients, allegedly made two patients lie down on a road outside the hospital premises, as there were no empty beds in the emergency ward. The patients were readmitted after the local television channels started flashing reports of the inhuman attitude of the hospital administration.
Three friends, Hemanta, Sunil and Anirban, were seriously injured in a bike accident in Birbhum district of West Bengal late on Sunday night. All three were brought to Kolkata early on Monday morning for treatment. While Anirban was admitted to Calcutta Medical College and Hospital in a critical condition, Hemanta and Sunil were referred to the emergency ward of SSKM hospital.

However, hospital authorities refused to admit the two patients, claiming that they had no beds in the emergency ward, and put them on ground under a tree outside the hospital. Relatives of the youth claimed that the hospital had taken the help of police to forcibly throw the two youths out of the hospital.
Hemanta and Sunil were put on drip, and lay under the tree for several hours without receiving any medical help, before some local television channels started beaming videos of the plight of the youths.

Tapan Ghosh, a relative of the patients said, "We brought them here at 4 in the morning. After the initial running around, they told us that they had no beds, and said that we should take them to some other nursing home. We requested them to let them stay in the hospital while we made arrangements to shift them to some other hospital. But they forced us out of the hospital by using police force."
Stunned by the news, Trinamool Congress leader Madan Mitra rushed to the spot and demanded an explanation from the hospital authorities. However, by this time, the hospital authorities had sensed the trouble they could be in, and had accommodated the patients inside the emergency ward.

Mitra claimed that the hospital authorities had links with some middlemen of other nursing homes, and hence were referring the two youths to those nursing homes so that they could make money.
"They are making the two youths lie in this scorching heat under a tree. If they catch an infection, which hospital will be able to treat them? I am sure that these people have links with middlemen, and take commissions," said an agitated Mitra.

Local people also alleged that the hospital had resorted to such inhuman act, as a three-member delegation from the Medical Council of India (MCI) was supposed to visit the hospital today, and hence the authorities, in a bid to keep the hospital ?clean?, did not want to overcrowd the wards.
Hospital superintendent Ashok Ghosh, however, rubbished such allegations and said, "For any medical centre, the treatment of the patients comes before anything else. I am looking into the matter."

Ironically, the authorities were not able to please the MCI members, despite going out of their way to please them. For, the non-functional air-conditioner of the main OT complex, and the usage of a portable AC during surgery, left the MCI team immensely dissatisfied.
"This is a matter of great shame for not only the hospital, but for entire West Bengal," said Ashok Ghosh after the departure of the MCI team, while referring to the displeasure of the MCI team, and not the plight of the injured youths, who were made to lie down under a tree by the hospital staff.

Add to: del.icio.us Digg Technorati