Civil hospital authorities formed an internal committee to probe the death of a road accident victim due to a series of alleged lapses in care.
The man who had been involved in an accident at Sherpur Chowk around 6 pm was brought to the hospital and provided initial first aid, but his condition deteriorated. An alleged oversight in recognising the injured patient led to him being transferred to the wrong ward around 7.30 pm.
The patient was lying on a stretcher amid a lack of beds, but fell while waiting to be tended. He succumbed to his injuries. Eyewitnesses said his body was left lying on the floor unattended for nearly three hours.
The internal committee, comprising forensic expert Dr Charan Kamal, medical specialist Dr Amanpreet Kaur and surgeon Dr Ankur Uppal, has been formed to investigate the circumstances that led to the patient’s death. The committee is expected to submit its findings by August 29.
Speaking of the incident, Kamal highlighted staff shortages and high influx of patients to the emergency ward during peak hours.
“The lack of available beds forced the patient to be shifted to a different ward, where he fell from the stretcher. The reason of his death and accountability of the same will be ascertained only after the post-mortem,” he added.