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Committee conducts seven-hour probe at Sassoon hospital in elderly patients’ negligence case
The committee headed by Dr Pallavi Sapale, joint director, medical education and research, Mumbai questioned around 16 to 17 officials and recorded their statements during the probe
The state government-appointed three-member inquiry committee from the medical education department on Friday conducted a seven-hour investigation at Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) in connection with the shocking case where several elderly patients referred by hospitals to a shelter home were forced to live in makeshift huts by its operator.
The panel is also probing the case of Prakash Purohit, an elderly patient with mental illness missing for the past several months. Purohit was admitted to SGH on September 23, 2024, for treatment. Later, the man was discharged from the hospital and sent to Rugna Aadhar Foundation, which runs the Ask Old Age Home, on December 4, 2024. The patient stayed at the shelter home for one-and-a-half months after which he was again admitted to the SGH as an orphan. Now, however, the individual’s family, SGH and Rugna Aadhar Foundation are unaware of the patient’s whereabouts.
The committee headed by Dr Pallavi Sapale, joint director, medical education and research, Mumbai questioned around 16 to 17 officials and recorded their statements during the probe. The investigation is conducted following an order issued by minister of state for medical education Madhuri Misal after reports emerged that the elderly were abandoned outdoors by Dadasaheb Gaikwad, operator, Ask Old Age Home. The elderly patients were earlier undergoing treatment at Sassoon hospital and were handed over to Gaikwad’s organisation as orphans after their recovery, as no relatives came forward to take them home.
According to officials, instead of providing accommodation and care, Gaikwad abruptly vacated the shelter home’s rented premises in Phursungi after the landlord raised the rent. With no alternate facility, Gaikwad, along with 16 elderly people, shifted to temporary huts erected in Ghorpadi where they have been staying for the past 36 days. Gaikwad is demanding 40,000 square feet of land from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on lease or a building to run the shelter home, they said.
Following public outrage, the social welfare department shifted 11 of the seniors on Thursday to the Janaseva Foundation Old Age Home in Ambi. Another patient, who is unwell, has been re-admitted to Sassoon hospital for treatment.
During Friday’s probe, the committee gathered details of the transfer process from SGH to the Ask Old Age Home and examined whether due protocol was followed. Officials also scrutinised the registration and functioning of Gaikwad’s organisation. Additionally, the committee investigated the claim regarding missing patient Purohit and questioned the doctors who had treated him.
Dr Sapale said, “The medical education department’s inquiry committee questioned 16 to 17 people throughout the day and recorded their statements. The committee has also looked into the missing patient case. The detailed report will soon be submitted to the state government for further action.”
