Patient dies in Thane civic hosp, relatives raise ruckus

The relatives of a 61-year-old man, who died on Wednesday after being brought in for routine dialysis, alleged negligence on the part of the Thane civic hospital, and said that the staff delayed putting an oxygen mask on the patient and that they had to wait for half-an-hour for the ambulance to arrive, so that they could move him to another hospital.

They created a ruckus, demanding the arrest of the negligent staff. The hospital has, however, said that the patient had a history of high blood pressure, which may have been a factor leading to his death.

Narendra Wajiraje, 61, was a regular at the Sheth Lakhimchand Fatichand Hospital at Kopri. On Wednesday, when his relatives brought him in for dialysis, doctors urged them to shift the patient elsewhere as his condition was grim. But the patient died before they could do the needful. “Our patient had to wait before the technician could put another oxygen mask on him. This delay caused his death. Also, when we were told to shift the patient, we had to wait for half-an-hour for an ambulance. This is negligence and we demand justice,” said, Dheeraj Chugh, a relative of Wajiraje.

The exact reason of Wajiraje’s death remains unclear as his relatives rejected the post mortem procedure.

A doctor on duty, on condition

A doctor on duty, on condition of anonymity, informed that there was no senior doctor available for the past 10 days, nor was a stretcher or ambulance available

of anonymity, informed that there was no senior doctor available for the past 10 days, nor was a stretcher or ambulance available.

When contacted, TMC health officer RT Kendre said, “As the relatives did not want to perform a post mortem, we cannot know the exact reason for the death. Also, he had high blood pressure and that could be the cause of death.”

TMC has three dialysis centres in the city which provide the facility at a minimal rate. The dialysis centre at Sheth Lakhimchand Fatichand Hospital was inaugurated in 2017.