Four months on, two docs suspended over death of 18 patients in Kalwa hospital

Thane: More than four months after 18 patients died in a single day at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa, the Thane Municipal Corporation has suspended two doctors for dereliction of duty, an official said on Sunday.

The two doctors are identified as associate professor Dr Deepa Banjan and assistant professor Dr Mahesh More. Thane is the home turf of chief minister Eknath Shinde, and the large number of patient deaths on August 12 and 13 at the civic-run facility had prompted the opposition to target the government, alleging mismanagement.

Amid political bickering over the deaths, CM Shinde had ordered the constitution of a high-level committee to probe the matter. The state health department demanded strict action against the dean of the hospital Dr Rakesh Barot. The Kalwa hospital is owned by the Thane Municipal Corporation and has been constantly criticised for poor management of patients.

Due to the delay in action, the serious matter was highlighted in the winter session. MLA Niranjan Davkhare raised questions in this case and asked for an answer as to what action was taken against the culprits. Industry minister Uday Samant replied that immediate action would be taken against the culprits after which the TMC had sent show cause notices to some doctors from the Kalwa hospital resulting in suspension of the doctors.

The spokesperson of Thane Municipal Corporation confirmed the suspension and said, “ We have sent a show cause notice as per the health department report and during the course of the inquiry the answers of these two doctors were not satisfactory. Therefore, they have been suspended for dereliction of duty.”

With inputs from PTI