Man dies in hospital during blackout,kin allege negligence

The victim,Tribhovan Goswami,was rushed to the hospital after he complained of high fever and vomiting. He was admitted to the hospital at 3.30 am. Around the same time,power supply to the area was disrupted.

“He had come from Surat a few days ago. His condition was serious. When we admitted him to the hospital,there was no light there. We managed to get him to the ward bed using lights from our mobile phones.

Asked about the generators,the hospital authorities told us that they were out of order,” said Subhas Giri,Goswami’s uncle. Giri said as the patient’s condition was deteriorating,the doctor on call

advised them to shift him to KEM or Nair Hospital.

“We asked the doctor for an ICU ambulance,for which they asked us to shell out Rs 3,000. They even made us sign a letter saying that if something happened to my nephew during transit,the hospital would not be held responsible. While all this was happening,no one was attending to the patient,” Giri said. The victim died within half-an-hour of being admitted.

The hospital authorities have,however,denied negligence on their part. They have set up a committee to investigate the matter.

“The boy was brought in a very critical condition and our doctors were doing everything they could to stabilise him. Our generators were functional. The committee will look into the matter further,” said Dr S Gawde,medical superintendent of Bhagwati Hospital.