4 Kalyan Hospital staff suspended, 2 dismissed after woman dies due to transfer delay

Thane: In the wake of the death of a critically ill 43-year-old woman at a civic hospital in Maharashtra's Thane district, the civic authorities have suspended four hospital staff and dismissed two others after a preliminary investigation report revealed that they failed to shift the woman patient to a higher medical facility for specialist treatment on time. 

The investigation revealed that there was a delay of nearly one hour for the ambulance to be available to take the woman to a different facility. On top of that, she was made to wait for nearly five hours at the hospital due to the reluctance of the ambulance driver.  

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While the patient was being moved into the ambulance, her condition deteriorated, and she was brought back to the emergency room. During this time, the driver of the ambulance took the vehicle away to fill diesel as per a latest HT news report.

Taking serious note of the incident, the civic authorities issued show-cause notices to the hospital's doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers and administrative staff and assured strict disciplinary action against those found responsible. As a result, four hospital staff have been suspended and two others dismissed from their service.

The 43-year-old woman patient, who was in a critical condition after suffering from a paralytic stroke and brain haemorrhage, died on Monday at the Rukminibai Hospital in Kalyan East operated by the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation as an ambulance driver did not act in time to shift her to another hospital, her family members alleged on Tuesday.

"It is deeply unfortunate that a woman lost her life in a municipal hospital due to the lack of basic ambulance services. We have issued show-cause notices to all concerned personnel at the hospital and they have been asked to submit their written explanations. These statements will be thoroughly investigated, and if found unsatisfactory or misleading, strict disciplinary action will be taken against the responsible parties," he said.

The commissioner paid a surprise visit to the hospital in the morning and reviewed the functioning. 

The deceased woman's daughter told HT, "At around 1.15 pm on May 5, 2025, my mother was admitted to the accident ward of Rukminibai Hospital with complaints of weakness in her left arm. It took them four hours to arrange for a single ambulance. My mother was everything to us, and these people need to understand the value of a human life."

A preliminary investigation conducted by senior KDMC officers revealed that the on-duty doctor who initially examined the patient suspected that she was suffering from a cerebrovascular accident (stroke). Therefore, he reportedly referred the case to another doctor, a specialist physician at the hospital. The specialist doctor, after examining her, advised the patient's family members to take her immediately to KEM Hospital, Mumbai or Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital, Kalwa, for advanced treatment.

Following this, the family members tried to arrange a government ambulance service, but no ambulance was available. Hence, two on-duty nurses and the sister-in-charge notified the hospital vehicle driver at 2.15 pm to prepare for the patient’s transfer. However, the ambulance became available only at 3.10 pm, causing a critical delay of nearly one hour.

After she was brought back to the hospital as her condition deteriorated mid-way in the ambulance, the attending doctor found that the patient’s pulse and blood pressure were unmeasurable. The doctor then performed emergency Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, administered atropine and adrenaline injections and was given oxygen, but she did not respond and died at 3.45 pm.

The death of the woman patient triggered public outrage. Political leaders visited the hospital and the municipal headquarters, demanding immediate action against those responsible for the administrative lapses.

Former corporator Mahesh Gaikwad said, "Six to seven municipal doctors are engaged in administrative tasks like tender processes while patients are left without medical attention", reports PTI.

There is now a growing demand for these doctors to be reassigned to patient care in municipal hospitals and health centres, he said.

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