Mob vandalises Ulhasnagar hospital after woman’s death

The deceased was admitted to Anil Multispecialty Hospital in Ulhasnagar on November 28, as she was suffering from pneumonia. She died on Monday evening while arrangements were being made to shift her to a bigger hospital in Thane

THANE: A mob of more than 100 people vandalised a private hospital in Ulhasnagar on Monday evening after the death of a 47-year-old woman suffering from pneumonia. Relatives of the deceased alleged that she was kept on ventilator support till the bill was settled on Monday even though she had died earlier. But the hospital dismissed the allegation and claimed that her condition deteriorated while she was being shifted to a bigger hospital, and all efforts to revive her failed.

Mob vandalises Ulhasnagar hospital after woman’s death

The deceased was admitted to Anil Multispecialty Hospital in Ulhasnagar on November 28, as she was suffering from pneumonia. She died on Monday evening while arrangements were being made to shift her to a bigger hospital in Thane.

The woman’s family alleged that she had died earlier but the hospital had kept her on ventilator support only to extract more money. Once the bill was settled, the hospital handed over her body while insisting that she still was alive, they claimed.

But sources at the hospital said she was placed on ventilator support as soon as she was admitted as her condition was critical. When her condition deteriorated despite continuous treatment, her family was advised to shift her to Jupiter Hospital in Thane for advanced care. Based on this advice, she was discharged at 8:20pm on Monday, the sources said.

While the woman was being shifted, her heart rate slowed and she was taken back into the ICU. Though doctors administered CPR for around 20 minutes in an attempt to revive her, she did not survive, the sources said.

Deepak Sirwani, head of Anil Multispecialty Hospital, told HT that around 100–150 persons vandalised the hospital on Monday evening because of misinformation spread by some relatives.

“The allegations are not correct. A doctor from the patient’s family was present in the hospital from the time she was admitted and following his assurance, they accepted that she was alive when she was discharged. CCTV footage of the ICU also shows that she was alive while CPR was being administered,” Sirwani said.

Shankar Autade, senior police inspector, central police station (Ulhasnagar), told HT, “There was some miscommunication from both parties, but it was resolved amicably later. None of the parties showed interest in lodging any formal complaint.”