Another death was reported from Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital here on Tuesday but hospital authorities say that it is not related to the violence in northeast Delhi .
Meanwhile, health rights activists have said that GTB Hospital, which was the first hospital reached during the recent riots , “did not have a functional CT scan facility for the first two of days of violence”.
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18-year-old Aqib died at GTB hospital on Monday. The body was handed over to the family on Tuesday. The family said that the youth was brought to the hospital last week with a head injury.
“He suffered a head injury in the violence when he went out to purchase clothes for his sister’s wedding. He was serious, was operated on twice, and passed away on Monday,” said his older brother Wasim. He added that Aquib worked as a daily wager and was caught unawares by the violence. Hospital staff said the death was not linked to the violence.
His father Iqramuddin, a resident of Bhagirathi Vihar in Mustafabad, has five children and owns a bangle shop. “The family was preparing for a wedding and now, we have lost my son in stone-throwing,” Mr. Iqramuddin said, after taking his son’s body.
Dr. Harjit Singh Bhatti, who was among the first volunteers to go into the Mustafabad area to help the victims of violence, said, “Gunshot victims who were brought to GTB Hospital for treatment got referred to other hospitals because GTB did not have a functioning CT scan. This is the irony of India’s healthcare, where there is no major difference between a small clinic or a tertiary care centre like GTB.”
“Around 30 patients were referred to the Rajiv Gandhi Superspeciality Hospital because of this problem,” said another physician, who did not wish to be named.
When asked about the problem, Dr. Sunil Kumar, Medical Director, GTB Hospital said: “The CT scan was not working on the first two days of the violence but I made personal efforts to get it repaired on a war footing.”
The hospital catered to the largest patient load coming in due to the violence, and reported admission of 279 injured persons, with 34 presently admitted, and two in a critical condition. The hospital has also reported 39 deaths so far.
The hospital administration noted that an internal assessment has revealed the highest number of patients brought in for treatment were in the 20-35 years age group, followed by those in the 35-40 years age group. Of the 279 persons, 272 were male, six were female, and there was one unidentified charred body.
