A crowd went on a smashing spree at Welcare Hospital in Vyttila after a woman admitted to the casualty died. The relative of the woman alleged that she was given a wrong jab.
Priya, 27, wife of Sujith of Chalikkavattom, was admitted after she began throwing up rapidly. The family had returned from a pilgrimage to Velankanni. She was first attended to by Dr. George J at the casualty while Sujith took the admission card from Dr. Sunil, a physician. Priya was given two injections and an intravenous fluid injection. Her condition worsened by around 1 p.m. and was shifted to the intensive care unit. Hospital authorities said her blood pressure plummeted and she died of cardiac arrest by 4.30 p.m.
A visibly shaken Sujith told the reporters who gathered at the hospital that she had no previous history of any major illness. The hospital authorities had allegedly told him that she was not shifted to another hospital with better facilities as they thought he would not be able to bear the expenses. Sujith is a casual labourer engaged in garbage removal with Kochi Corporation.
The hospital superintendent, S. Kamath, who is away, told The Hindu that his enquiries at the hospital had given him a report that an ECG variation in the patient made the cardiologist attend to the patient who was taken to the ICU for thrombolysis — to remove any clot.
Dr Kamath also said that all "events regarding the patient's health were communicated to the relatives. He said the post-mortem will reveal if any wrong medicine was administered.
The situation became tense by around 7.30 p.m. when the police tried to remove Dr. George from the hospital amid mob that was getting restless. Police had to use force to disperse the crowd that tried to manhandle the doctor while he was being brought out. No arrest have been made.
Enraged, the mob rushed inside the hospital premises and damaged the pharmacy and frontage of casualty area. The glass pane in front of the pharmacy was fully shattered, as the crowd had free access to the area. The police closed the grills at the entrance only after the angry crowd left the premise.
Even after that, the police team had a hard time controlling the crowd. Police sources said that cases would be registered under the Kerala Health Service Persons and Healthcare Services Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act 2012 for assaulting a doctor on duty.
The body of Priya was later shifted to General Hospital, where the post-mortem will be held on Thursday. The couple has two boys, aged 7 and 5 years.
