After patient’s death, kin create ruckus

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 19

Relatives created ruckus and put a lock on the medicine ward at the Government Medical College (GMC) here last night after their patient died.

While claiming negligence on part of doctors family members stated that their patient was not shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) even as a the need was felt by senior doctors. Family members of the deceased also locked a resident doctor inside a room, who was later rescued by other members of the staff.

Son of the deceased, Sooraj Gosai, stated that his father Rakesh Kumar was admitted in the hospital for the last four days. “Yesterday morning at around 11 am, the head of the ward said the patient has to be shifted to the ICU as his condition has deteriorated. This was not done till 9: 30 pm. When we took the patient to the ICU on our own, doctors stated that he had already died,” alleged Gosai.

Meanwhile, a faculty member at the hospital stated that a protocol in which AIDS and Hepatitis C tests were conducted before shifting any patient to the ICU was followed the world over. “Doctors had asked family members to get the tests conducted on their own. As they failed to do so the patient could not be shifted to the ICU,” he said adding that because of faults of the government no medical kits were available for AIDS and Hepatitis C tests at the college, which was straining the patient-doctor relations.

The tests which are to be conducted at the hospital are being done from outside labs as kits are not available at the GMC.

When contacted, president of the Resident Doctors Association, Gagandeep Singh Shergill said, “Doctors are not at fault as the tests are to be conducted prior to shifting a patient to the ICU in order to rule out any chances of infecting medical equipment. If the machine is infected, it can harm other patients too.”