The Agripada police arrested one person for the alleged assault on three resident doctors at the civic-run Nair Hospital on Monday. The man arrested is the brother-in-law of the 49-year-old man who died at the hospital on Sunday evening after his nasal ventilation tube was found to be detached.
Relatives of the patient, meanwhile, have said his death was due to sheer negligence by doctors and medical staff, and denied assaulting any of them.
No assault in footage
A police official said, “One accused was arrested early on Monday. An inquiry is under way against two women seen in the footage of the ruckus.” He said the footage only shows one accused throwing a file. “There is no evidence of physical assault in the footage,” he said.
The family members, meanwhile, said they merely argued with the doctors and medical staff. They said there was an emotional outburst when the patient was declared dead, which led to the argument. “The doctors have made false allegations against us,” the patient’s son told The Hindu on Monday.
The patient had lost sensation in the right side of his body due to a neurological ailment. He also had HIV, tuberculosis, and pneumonia. On June 10, he was admitted to Nair Hospital for a decompression surgery, which involved removing a portion of the skull. The surgery was carried out on June 15 and he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit for the next few days.
“He was later shifted to Ward 18. On Sunday, since his condition had slightly deteriorated, they shifted him to Ward 23, which had a ventilator,” the son said. He said throughout the day, his father’s vitals were stable. “We had requested them to admit my father to the ICU, but one of the women doctors curtly told us patients who don’t have any survival chances cannot be admitted to the ICU,” he said.
“Around 6 p.m., they asked the relatives to step out to clean the ward. After some time, the nurse suddenly asked us why we had removed the nasal ventilation pipe,” he said. By this time, the patient’s heart rate had started falling and around 6.30 p.m., the three doctors — Dr. Dipali Patil, Dr. Gaurav Gunjan, and Dr. Moiz Vora — broke the news of his death to the relatives.
“We were in shock. In that emotional outburst, we asked the doctors who had removed the tube. The doctors, however, started recording a video on their mobile phones and provoked us instead,” the son said.
He said he was surprised that the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors had claimed the patient had removed the tube himself. “My father was almost paralysed on the right side. His hands were swollen because of the intravenous drips and he could only open his eyes. How could he have removed the tube?” the son asked.
He said the police should investigate by looking at CCTV camera footage.
Inquiry on, says dean
Hospital dean Dr. Ramesh Bharmal said the matter was under investigation. “The police have taken statements. The deputy dean has been asked to conduct a parallel inquiry.”
Dr. Bharmal said patients with such neurological conditions do suddenly shake their head which may lead to accidental removal of the nasal tube. But relatives argued that had the medical staff been watchful, such a thing would not have happened.
The police have booked the suspects under Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), and 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Act, 2010.
Kin upset over privacy breach
The relatives of the man who died in Nair Hospital on Sunday are livid that the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors and the police disclosed the name of the patient despite his HIV status. “There is so much stigma around the disease. I don’t think my father deserved to be labelled like this,” his grieving son said. “We don’t come from a very well-to-do family. My father was the only earning member and so many people knew him,” he said.
