Man from Assam dies in Delhi, family blames hospital

A 42-year-old man from Assam died in a hospital in the national capital within hours of hospitalisation, after allegedly being given wrong medication, said family members on Wednesday.

They also alleged that the hospital was operating without licence and the patients were being treated by its staff impersonating as doctors.

The incident took place on November 16, 2017, after Utpal Saikia, working with a Delhi-based NGO, was admitted to SHl Hospital in Munirka of south Delhi by the paying guest accommodation owner as he was unwell.

"My brother (Utpal) was unwell on November 16 and was taken to the Munirka-located SHl Hospital by the owner of his paying guest accommodation as this hospital was nearby. Within hours of his admission, he became unconscious after he was given some medication," Mouchumi Saikia, sister of the deceased and who herself is a doctor with the Civil Hospital of Assam's lakhimpur, told IANS.

She stated that in the evening of November 16, Saikia's condition started to deteoriate, following which he was referred to Safdarjung Hospital. However, when taken to Safdarjung Hospital, Saikia was declared "brought dead" there.

R.K. Yadav, who treated the patient at SHl Hospital, said the patient was brought to the hospital with complaints of severe stomach pain and vomitting. 

"We just gave Pantocid injection to the patient. His condition deteriorated thereafter," Yadav said.

Suspecting foul play, Mochumi and her husband, also a doctor, inquired about the doctors and the hospital and discovered that the hospital was operating without a government licence and that the doctors were fake.

According to Mochumi Saikia, Yadav had claimed that he was registered with the Goa Medical Council and his registration number was 1360. 

However, on checking the website of Goa Medical Council, they found that the given registration number belonged to some other doctor, named Rajendra Pratap Singh.

A compalaint against the hospital and Yadav has been filed at the Vasant Kunj Police Station, Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and the Delhi Medical Council (DMC).

"We have received the documents from the family members of the deceased that shows the hospital operating illegally and people in the hospital impersonating as doctors. We have sent the documents to the authorities concerned for survey and hopefully things will be clear in a day or two as to what needs to be done," DMC Secretary Girish Tyagi told IANS.

It was also discovered that the hospital had a nursing home registration certificate on display, which was being confirmed with the nursing home cell of the DGHS.