There cannot be a more a ridiculous statement than what the Health Minister Damodar Rout made on Friday in Bhubaneswar that the Mahakalpada victim might have died in the Capital Hospital due to public uproar in front of the hospital. Rout’s statement has triggered a debate whether the girl actually died in Bhubaneswar or she had succumbed before she was brought to Bhubaneswar.
Battling with death for 12 days with nearly 70 per cent burn injuries, the victim was exposed to about 15 minutes of smoke-filled atmosphere during her treatment at the SCB Medical College Hospital, Cuttack and developed septicemia and acute respiratory disorder.
So, the million-dollar question now doing round here is “Was it necessary to shift her to New Delhi in hasteIJ”
Going by the reactions of the victim’s relatives and the conduct of the accompanying doctors, including those who were supervising her shifting from Cuttack, it is now believed that the patient had breathed her last during her travel to Bhubaneswar by an ambulance.
The ambulance carrying the victim was seen stationed for more than 20 minutes in the SCB Hospital campus, just minutes after it began rolling. Tensed doctors in the ambulance were seen making frantic calls and examining the patient. It was clear from these developments that the Cuttack doctors were determined to shift the victim from the hospital in order to shift responsibilities knowing very well the consequences.
Another question that merits a thorough investigation is to find out as to how the Sunday’s fire mishap took place in the burn unit of the Cuttack hospital due to an electric short circuit where the victim was under treatment and was exposed to smoke-filled air in her cabin for nearly 15 minutes. According to sources, all ACs of the burn unit were replaced last year and why the authorities were not extra careful for the victim, whose pathetic state of affair had already created ruckus in the StateIJ
Whereas negligence in treatment to the victim is now the key allegation of all opposition parties, it is also crucial to find out whether any criminal negligence was meted out to the victim by the doctors.