Patient found dead: Mumbai civic body removes superintendent of Sewri TB Hospital

Days after the decomposed body of a tuberculosis (TB) patient with Covid-19 infection was recovered from a toilet at Sewri TB Hospital, the medical superintendent

Days after the decomposed body of a tuberculosis (TB) patient with Covid-19 infection was recovered from a toilet at Sewri TB Hospital, the medical superintendent of the hospital has been removed from his post. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has also initiated inquiry into more than 20 staffers including nurses and doctors from the hospital.

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Suryabhan Yadav, 27, was found dead in a toilet at the hospital, 14 days after he went “missing”. After receiving complaints of foul smell at the toilet, the administration opened the door and found the decomposed body on October 25. Following this, BMC called for a high-level inquiry into the negligence of the hospital.

The report of the inquiry was submitted on Monday.

“It has been decided to remove the current medical superintendent (Dr Lalit Anande) from his post. He hasn’t been held responsible, but considering he holds the main position, we have to take a stern step against him to stop such incidents in the future,” said Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner.

Despite repeated attempts, Dr Anande didn’t respond to HT’s calls or messages.

In addition, a departmental inquiry has been initiated against 12-13 hospital staff including nurses and ward boys for their negligence. “We have also summoned around seven-eight paramedics from the hospital, which also includes doctors who were responsible for the Covid-19 wards,” said Kakani.

As per the information procured from Sewri TB Hospital, Yadav was admitted at the hospital on September 30 after being diagnosed with Covid-19. However, he didn’t give his address during admission. It is suspected that he collapsed and died in the bathroom of the isolation ward on October 4 as he was very weak.

To address issues like this, the BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal had, in July, instructed hospitals to keep a bedpan for every patient so that they don’t have to go to the bathroom at night. Hospitals were also instructed to monitor patients through video surveillance. Sewri TB Hospital has been found to have violated all these rules to ensure safety of TB patients.

“This is not the first instance where a TB patient has collapsed at a bathroom in the hospital. The staffers don’t even help patients to the bathroom and let them go alone. In the past, we had made several complaints but the staff union is too strong. Every time BMC tried to take action against them, they would threaten the administration,” said Ramesh Kumar, a local TB activist.