A woman died of cardiac arrest in the civil hospital here, allegedly due to delay in treatment, while the medical staff was busy attending a function organised by local member of Parliament and union minister of state for health and family welfare Santosh Chowdhary. The hospital authorities, however, denied the allegation.
Kanta Rani of Jandi village, 65, was brought to the hospital for medical tests. She was in the X-ray department when she collapsed.
As Class-4 employees shifted her to the emergency ward, her attendants rushed to the function venue to call the doctors. Seeking urgent help, the patient's relatives shouted at the doctors. The woman, who had suffered a heart attack, died within minutes.
The woman's family alleged that she died due to doctors' negligence. "She was not given timely treatment. There was no doctor to attend to her. I had to run to the function venue to call them," said her son, Loveraj.
Senior medical officer Anil Mahindra refuted the charges. "The entire medical and paramedical staff were present in the emergency ward. They consulted the medical specialist, who advised that the patient be shifted to a cardiac centre after first aid, but the woman collapsed in the meantime," he said.
After the function, Chowdhary went to the emergency ward to take stock of the situation. When some mediapersons asked her for comments, she said such deaths often took place in government hospitals. Later, however, she clarified that complaints of negligence kept coming from civil hospitals, which was "unfortunate".
After the function, Chowdhary went to the emergency ward to take stock of the situation. When some mediapersons asked her for comments, she said such deaths often took place in government hospitals. Later, however, she clarified that complaints of negligence kept coming from civil hospitals, which was "unfortunate".