The family of Dr Lakshmi Narsimhan, a scientist who retired from the Botanical Survey of India last year, first went to a private hospital located on Nagar Road where they were reportedly told that no ICU bed was available.
A 61-year-old man died early Wednesday morning after his family’s desperate search to find an ICU bed for him in the city’s private hospitals, as well as the government-run Sassoon Hospital, proved futile.
The family of Dr Lakshmi Narsimhan, a scientist who retired from the Botanical Survey of India last year, first went to a private hospital located on Nagar Road where they were reportedly told that no ICU bed was available.
“On Tuesday evening, my brother-in-law had breathing problems. His wife and daughter then rushed him to a private hospital, where the doctors said there was no ICU bed available. They then contacted me, and I got in touch with Congress leaders and friends Ramesh Iyer and Arvind Shinde. All of us tried to contact different private hospitals, but none of them had ICU beds available. We then decided to take him to Sassoon Hospital,” said S Madhavan, a close relative.
Mahadavan said at Sassoon Hospital, they failed to find an ICU bed. “They told us that there are other patients in the queue for an ICU bed. Narsimhan, who was conscious, was put in the general ward and given oxygen support. The doctors repeatedly told his wife and daughter that they should have patience and he will be fine. However, around 2 am, he passed away,” he said.
The family said they want a thorough investigation in the matter. “Nobody should die for want of proper treatment. The district administration should put the facts before the public as to whether it has enough ICU beds and whether it is in a position to handle serious patients,” Mahadavan said.
District Collector Naval Kishore Ram said the administration will investigate the matter and look into the allegations of the family. “We will have to find out what exactly happened. I will ask my officials to thoroughly investigate the matter. Pune has no shortage of beds with oxygen or ventilators….I have said this earlier also…,” the district collector told The Indian Express.
Congress leader Ramesh Iyer, a family friend, said,”The district collector had last week stated that there are adequate ICU beds available in Pune. He had said in case of an emergency, patients’ relatives should take the patient to the government hospital. Yesterday… the patient’s condition was critical… they contacted me. I went to the website of the Divisional Commissioner’s Office to check the availability of ICU beds. The status revealed that in majority of hospitals, there were no ICU beds available. I told the family to take the patient to Sassoon Hospital. Even in Sassoon, there were no ICU beds available. There were already three to four patients in the queue waiting to get admitted to the ICU. The patient was given oxygen. The hospital had no ventilators. The patient passed away early in the morning. It’s an alarming situation. The administration has to take efforts to clear the confusion about oxygen beds and ICU…,”.
Iyer added, “I am going to lodge a complaint with the Divisional Commissioner on Thursday regarding non-availability of ventilators and ICU beds in Sassoon Hospital and non-availability of beds in other hospitals.”
Meanwhile, labour leader Irfan Sayyed on Wednesday urged the district collector and PCMC chief to take action against a private hospital which was allegedly denying even primary treatment to patients.