Parminder Gupta, whose family claimed he had been bitten by a rat while in a coma at HBT Traumacare Hospital, died on Thursday. He had been transferred to the BMC-run hospital on April 12 from Highland Hospital in Thane, where he had undergone surgery for removing a blood clot.
While the exact cause of death is yet to be known, doctors said the 27-year-old’s heart rate and blood pressure dropped drastically and he died soon after.
Preliminary observations made during the autopsy revealed intracranial bleeding and a healed injury near his right eye. Mr Gupta’s family had alleged that the rat bit him near his right lower eye lid, but hospital authorities denied the incident.
The post mortem on his body was carried out at Siddharth Hospital in Goregaon. Doctors said samples have been sent to JJ Hospital for histopathology.
Doctors at Highland Hospital had preformed a craniotomy (removal of part of the skull) as well. Soon after the surgery, Mr. Gupta slipped into a coma, from which he never recovered.
His cousin Nirmala said, “We’ve lost such a young boy. I don’t know whom to blame. I don’t even know why the hospital kept lying after the rat bit him.”
On April 27, the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission ordered the civic body to pay ₹2 lakh each to three patients bitten by rats at the Babasaheb Ambedkar Municipal General Hospital, popularly known as Shatabdi Hospital, in Kandivali.
M.A. Sayeed, member, MSHRC, said the rights body has taken suo motu cognisance of the cases. “Such incidents shouldn’t take place in hospitals. A lot of money has gone into building them. Measures need to be taken actively and soon. The MSHRC will obtain details of Mr. Gupta’s case soon and consider action.”
Poor hygiene at civic-run hospitals has been a cause of concern for long. HBT Traumacare Hospital is one of the new civic hospitals, and was built at a cost of over ₹100 crore.
