A 65-year-old man who met with an accident died in the Government Hospital (GH), Ambur, after treatment was reportedly delayed due to absence of doctors on Sunday. The Joint Director of Medical and Rural Health Services has ordered a departmental inquiry into the incident.
According to police, Rajkumar, a resident of Chennai, was driving a car on the National Highway 48 towards Bengaluru on Sunday afternoon. Another person, Santhanam, 84, was travelling with him. Police said the car hit a vehicle travelling ahead and stopped near the Ambur sugar mill.
Both persons sustained injuries. While a critically injured Rajkumar was taken to the GH at Ambur in an 108 ambulance, Santhanam was taken to a private hospital in Vellore.
However, the duty doctor was not present when Rajkumar was rushed to the GH, where he died.
A health official said only staff nurses alone were present when Rajkumar was brought in with injuries.
A. Shanthi, Joint Director of Medical and Rural Health Services (in-charge), Vellore, conducted an inquiry at the hospital.
“We will conduct a departmental inquiry into this incident,” she said.
On complaints about a 13-year-old girl, Vaishnavi of Ralakuthur near Omarabad, dying in the hospital due to delay in treatment, officials clarified that the girl was brought dead.
‘Brought dead’
“The girl was earlier admitted to the Ambur GH and was referred to Bengaluru. She was suffering from rheumatic heart disease, and her parents brought her again to the Ambur GH as she was critical. However, she was brought dead.
This happened within an hour after the road traffic accident victim died. The duty doctor was present in the hospital. The doctor performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the girl but she could not be revived,” an official said.
Vaishnavi’s family members took her body in a two-wheeler.
A few members of the Hindu Munnani staged a protest at the hospital following the deaths.
Dr. Shanthi said there were four or five doctors at the Ambur GH now.
“We will be diverting one doctor from the Gudiyatham GH and another from the Tirupattur GH to work at Ambur. The chief medical officer in-charge will be handing over charges to a senior doctor and report for duty. We will ensure that the doctors are present at the hospital during duty hours,” she said.
