A 67-year old father was forced to shift his son, suffering from liver cirrhosis, from one department to another at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, leading to the death of the patient.
Manoj Kumar Singla was referred to PGI from Patiala where he was undergoing treatment. His cousin who is a Government employee and a medical practitioner, said that “He was suffering from liver cirrhosis, so we admitted him to the hospital, in Patiala. later he was referred to PGI Chandigarh for treatment, and I accompanied him there.”
He said, “The doctors admitted him in the emergency ward on January 25. However, the drama started early when the doctors at the emergency referred him, to the surgical ward, from where he was referred to the medical ward.”
All this while the patient was suffering from excruciating pain, but no one took heed of it. The extent of negligence was so bad that the doctor who attended the patient at the medical ward said that, “He is suffering from a mental ailment,” and referred him to the psychiatry ward, after having a good laugh at his disposal.
Just a day after, when he was admitted to the PGI, the doctors discharged him. The patient was rendered helpless because his old father was the only person attending him as his brother; a medical practitioner who accompanied him from Patiala had left.
It was on Monday, two days after he was admitted in PGI that his conditions started deteriorating.
Alarmed father immediately rushed him back to the premier medical institution after his condition became worse. Here the patient got some treatment at the outpatient department and was referred for admission to the male medical ward.
At the male medical ward the attendants and doctors said that it is a case of emergency.
“My son was again sent back to the emergency ward. It was here that he breathed his last, and was relieved of his pain. On top of it the institute refused to conduct post-mortem and declared it that it was a brought dead case”, said the father of the deceased .
It was only after the family approaches and raising lot of hue and cries to the police a case was finally registered.
Meanwhile, the official spokesperson of PGI said, “We have constituted a meeting with the medical board for conducting the post-mortem, and it is up to the police to carry out the further investigations as the case has been referred to them.”