Hyderabad: Apathy of Gandhi Hospital staff in emergency care claims woman’s life

The victim’s relatives alleged that apathy, callousness and lethargy on the part of hospital care givers contributed to her death

Hyderabad: A 58-year-old woman Janamma, in a critical condition with multiple health complications was brought to the emergency of Gandhi Hospital on Tuesday midnight. By Wednesday morning, the hospital doctors pronounced her dead and stated that all necessary treatment was extended to her. However, the victim’s relatives alleged that apathy, callousness and lethargy on the part of hospital care givers contributed to her death.

We arrived at Gandhi Hospital casualty at around 11.50 pm from Wanaparthy on Tuesday midnight, desperate for medical help for Janamma. It took us nearly an hour to get their attention and treatment due to the presence of only one female doctor at the emergency. The hospital care givers checked her blood pressure and sugar levels at around 12.50 am,” says Madhu, the victim’s nephew.

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“I started forcefully urging them to treat her as an emergency case. They asked me to go and complain to RMO, who in-turn asked me to meet the CMO. I met the CMO and told him about the emergency situation. He made a call and I ran back to emergency, but still there was nobody to check on her,” Madhu said.

Later, at around 1.25 am, the doctors checked her vitals and instructed us to obtain X-Ray and ECG results. With great difficulty, we managed to convince a ward boy to help us take the patient to radiology wing for X-ray and ECG. In between, they started giving her medication to increase her sugar levels, which was at 40 when they first checked,” another relative of the victim said.

The emergency wing did not have a three-way canula, forcing me to purchase one from a private medical store on the hospital campus. They showed no urgency while treating her. Later, they asked me to go and check for a bed at ICU ward on the third floor. There were no beds available at that time. Before we even could shift her, between 10.30 am and 10.40 am on Wednesday, they pronounced her dead. I believe that quicker and more attentive treatment could have saved my aunt,” says Madhu.

Meanwhile, the Gandhi Hospital doctors said Janamma was brought in a bad condition to the casualty. “She had severe sepsis with BP and pulse weak in almost shock state and admitted in medical unit 2 and with Ventilator (cpap) support in casualty. But as in metabolic acidosis and kidney failure she couldn’t recover and expired in the morning. We have given all the necessary treatment,” they said.