The police have booked four members of a family from Ghansoli for allegedly vandalising Fortis Hiranandani Hospital in Vashi after the death of a 48-year-old relative on Tuesday morning.
According to the family members, Suresh Chavan, a vegetable trader at APMC market, died of heart attack as the hospital denied treatment to him citing the reason of unavailability of beds.
Akshay Karad (30), nephew of the deceased, said around 2 a.m., he started getting restless and feeling pain in his chest following which they took him to Fortis Hiranandani Hospital.
“A doctor told us that he could not be treated there as there were no vacant beds. We requested the doctor to at least check him as he was having chest pain. The doctor agreed to get an ECG done and left while we kept waiting,” he said.
Later, Mr. Karad said, a woman came and said that even an ECG could not be done right now and asked them to leave. “As we were leaving, my uncle collapsed outside the reception area and it was then that the hospital authorities rushed him to the emergency and started checking. After some time, they said that he could not be revived and declared him dead.”
He said the hospital wasted crucial hours. “We waited for around an hour hoping for a response. When they announced his death, I could not control my emotions and damaged a door.”
Mr. Karad along with his cousins Akshay Awhad (25), Siddhesh (21), and Shubham (20) have been booked for assault under the Indian Penal Code and the Medical Protection Act.
The hospital, in a statement, said the patient was brought into the emergency room in the early hours of Tuesday and immediately a medical team started assessing him. “While the assessment was under way, his family members enquired about hospitalisation. It was communicated to them that all critical care beds were full. Before we could assist the family with the next steps, the patient collapsed; this occurred within three minutes of the patient’s arrival in the emergency room. Immediately, lifesaving procedures were initiated, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation was administered, but the patient could not be revived,” the statement said.
It further said the patient’s family members reacted aggressively to the news of loss of their relative and vandalised the hospital and physically assaulted hospital staff, causing grave injuries.
“Presently, our medical staff and frontline workers who attempted lifesaving measures to save the patient are intimidated and traumatised with the behaviour of the patient’s family. In order to keep up patient safety and the well-being of our medical and non-medical staff, we have escalated the incident to the police,” the statement said.
