Death of H1N1 patient sparks off protest in Bengaluru

The death of an H1N1-infected person during a power outage at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) early on Sunday triggered protests alleging negligence by the hospital.

B.V. Ganesh (53), an auto consultant from Mysuru Road who had been admitted to the institute with H1N1 and bilateral pneumonia on February 20, was on ventilator support.

Around 4 a.m. on Sunday, electricity supply to the Medical Intensive Care Unit was disrupted. It was during this blackout that Mr. Ganesh died, leading to protests by relatives and well-wishers.

“When we called up the doctors to inform them of the power cut, they told us to ‘adjust’ and that there would be no problem. However, within half an hour, he passed away. The hospital is solely responsible for the death,” said Uma, Mr. Ganesh’s wife.

However, RGICD Medical Director Shashidhar Buggi maintained that there was no connection between the power outage and the death.

“The patient had been critical for a few days, and his conditioned worsened on February 28. There was little hope [of him living] and we had put him on ventilator support. Owing to the rain, there were power problems in his block, but we had made all arrangements to ensure he was shifted to the surgical ICU, if needed,” he said.

RGICD says there is no link between the power outage and the death