Man dies after allegedly being denied admission at BMC-run hospital twice; family blames negligence

The family of an autorickshaw driver in Jogeshwari has alleged that he would have been alive if doctors at HBT Trauma Care Hospital had admitted him the first time he was taken there in the early hours of Sunday with complaints of chest pain and discomfort. Rajesh Yadav, 39, was taken twice to the hospital, which is five minutes away from their house, his relatives have claimed.

“Rajesh came home after 10pm on Saturday. After dinner, he complained of chest pain and discomfort and started to vomit. We rushed him to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation-run hospital where they conducted an ECG. Though we requested them to admit him, a doctor said the report was normal, gave him an antacid, and sent us home,” Brijesh, his brother, said.

When there was no relief, Brijesh said they took him again to the hospital around 3.30am and insisted on admission. “Doctors in the casualty ward repeated the ECG but did not share the details. This time, he was given a painkiller and sent home.”

Around 6.30am, while being taken to the hospital for the third time, Rajesh collapsed at the gate and was declared dead later, Brijesh said.

The provisional cause of death given by the doctor said Rajesh died of left ventricular hypertrophy - thickening of the wall of the heart’s main pumping chamber - and myocardial infarction - heart attack.

“We had taken him in the golden hour. What is the use of having a hospital close-by, but you do not get treatment on time and lose your loved ones?” Brijesh asked. Rajesh is survived by his wife and four children.

This is the second incident at the hospital in the last two weeks where a patient and his relatives insisted on admission but in vain.

On September 23, a 20-year-old man from Aarey lost his life allegedly due to low platelet count and breathlessness. The family of Ajit Muthuswamy, who worked in the film city, blamed the negligence by doctors at the hospital where they took him thrice.

“He was running a high fever, had chills and complained of giddiness on September 21. We took him to the hospital where doctors at the casualty ward advised routine diagnostic tests such as CBC (complete blood count) and prescribed an antibiotic, an anti-allergy medicine, and a cough syrup for five days,” Ganesh, his father, said.

The tests were conducted at a private laboratory and the CBC report showed his platelet count as low as 46,000, he said. “His condition deteriorated, and he requested us to again take him to the hospital as he gasped for breath. We took him to the hospital around 9.30pm.” A normal platelet count remains between 1.5 lakh and 4 lakh.

The family claimed that the on-duty medical officer, who examined him, gave him intravenous fluids and asked them to take him home. “My son kept insisting that he was not feeling well, and they should admit him. We also requested them. However, the doctor said he was good to be taken home after giving him a nebuliser and administering glucose,” Ganesh said.

“In the morning, his condition took a turn for the worse. While we were taking him to the hospital for the third time, he fell unconscious on his mother’s lap. When we reached the hospital, doctors declared him dead,” the father said and added that if the hospital had agreed to keep his son under observation at night and treated him, he would have been alive.

“We do not know whether it was dengue, jaundice or any other infection. All we know is we took our son twice to the hospital and requested them to admit him. They could have saved my son,” he said.

Dr Shailesh Mohite, dean of HBT medical college and Dr RN Cooper Hospital under which HBT Trauma Care Hospital falls, said he would investigate the alleged medical negligence.

With the rise in monsoon ailments, BMC in August had announced shifting of critical patients to Sevenhills Hospital in Marol from its peripheral facilities which include HBT Trauma Care Hospital.