The condition of the 23-year-old physiotherapy student who was gang-raped in New Delhi and is fighting for her life at Mount Elizabeth Hospital here has “taken a turn for the worse,” an official said.
Mount Elizabeth chief executive officer Kelvin Loh said in a statement: “Her vital signs are deteriorating with signs of severe organ failure”.
“This is despite doctors fighting for her life including putting her on maximum artificial ventilation support, optimal antibiotic doses as well as stimulants which maximise her body’s capability to fight infections,” he said.
The victim has significant brain injury, infection in lungs and abdomen in addition to suffering from heart problems.
“The patient is currently struggling against the odds and fighting for her life,” said Dr. Loh. The woman was brought here in an air ambulance on Thursday and admitted to the intensive care unit.
She had undergone three surgeries at the Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, where she remained on ventilator support during most part of the treatment. Doctors removed a major part of her intestines that had become gangrenous.
“A multi-disciplinary team of specialists has been working tirelessly to treat her since her arrival, and is doing everything possible to stabilise her condition,” Dr. Loh said.
“The High Commission of India has been fully supportive in helping the hospital and her family, and ensuring that the best care is made available,” he added.
In Delhi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi stressed that no time should be lost in bringing the perpetrators of such barbarous act to justice.
“We are committed to bringing the guilty to justice as soon as possible,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, adding that the best possible medical care was being provided to the victim.
The victim’s father, who flew in with her, said he was reassured that the best is being done for his daughter.
The woman’s family members do not speak English and rely on interpreters to communicate with hospital staff, The Straits Times newspaper reported.
The High Commission of India has assigned a liaison officer to assist the family.
Indian High Commissioner to Singapore Dr T C A Raghavan said: “We are hoping for the best”.
