Minister’s kin dies, pvt hospital sealed
ALLAHABAD: A private hospital in Allahabad was sealed after a relative of Union minister of state for health Anupriya Patel died on June 5, allegedly due to the negligence of doctors.
Chief medical officer (CMO), Allahabad, Dr Alok Verma initiated action against Harsh Hospital following a complaint by Apna Dal national president Ashish Singh.
A probe committee has been set up to look into the matter.
Barring the OPD of neurosurgeon Dr Mukul Pandey, all services of the hospital have been suspended till further orders.
Ashish Singh took Garima Singh, niece of Anupriya Patel, to Harsh Hospital when she suddenly fell ill on June 2.
Singh alleged that instead of admitting Garima despite her critical condition, the doctors referred her to the Swaroop Rani Nehru Hospital (SRNH) of the medical college.
Garima was kept at SRNH for a night under the supervision of a team of doctors led by the principal of the medical college Dr SP Singh.
As her condition deteriorated, she was referred to the Sanjay Gandhi Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS), Lucknow, where she died on June 5. Garima was pursuing BTech from a college in Jhansi.
Ashish reached Allahabad on Tuesday to immerse the ashes of Garima in the Sangam and lodged a complaint with the chief medical officer.
Meanwhile, the Allahabad Medical Association convened an emergency meeting of doctors to protest action against the hospital. AMA secretary Dr Tribhuwan Singh said the chief medical officer’s action was arbitrary as the case was related to a minister.
“The patient was brought to the hospital in a critical condition and needed ventilator support. Since ventilator was not available at the hospital, the patient was referred to SRN Hospital. There was no negligence on the part of doctors,” he claimed.
The doctors also staged a demonstration at the CMO office on Thursday and threatened to paralyse medical services in Allahabad. The CMO said the hospital would be allowed to resume services after the inquiry was over.