Patient denied Admission: Two Govt hospitals submit reports to Delhi Health Department

New Delhi: Two government-run hospitals in the capital, Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Hospital and Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital have acknowledged their culpability in refusing admission to a 47-year-old man who succumbed to his injuries after jumping out of a moving police van on January 3.

While GTB Hospital acknowledged that there were procedural errors in their decision to deny admission, LNJP appeared to admit that there were lapses in handling the patient when he arrived at the hospital. 

The claim that there was no ICU bed with a ventilator has been proven false, as the medical director of LNJP hospital has acknowledged the deficiencies and confirmed the availability of an accessible ICU bed equipped with a ventilator.

Also read- Hospitals Deny Admission: Four Doctors Under Delhi Govt Scanner After 47-Year-Old Man Succumbs To Injuries

Speaking to TOI, LNJP medical director, Dr Suresh Kumar said, "Ventilator & ICU beds were available, but the patient was not admitted to the neurosurgery department".

Medical Dialogues team recently reported about the incident where the patient, an accused in a molestation case was allegedly refused admission by three Delhi government hospitals namely GTB Hospital, JPC Hospital and Lok Nayak Hospital and one central government hospital, namely RML Hospital due to nonfunctional CT machine, unavailability of a ventilator, and a shortage of ICU beds following which he died. 

In response to this, the state health department had asked for a detailed report from Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) concerned regarding the matter. Hence, the report concerning the allegations of negligence has been presented to the special secretary of the health department.

In the report, Dr Asmita M Rathore, GTB medical director acknowledged that a woman doctor, Dr ** of JPC Hospital brought Kumar's medical papers to GTB, but the lack of preparation of casualty registration papers and failure to move the patient for examination were noted.

It has emerged that the police brought Kumar to JPCH at 10.10 pm on Jan 2 and he was admitted to the surgery department. He was intubated and given assistive ventilation at 10.14 pm. But with his condition deteriorating, Kumar’s case was referred to GTB. Dr **, a junior resident, was deputed to accompany the patient to monitor his health and facilitate admission.

“Dr *** contacted the doctor on duty at GTB Hospital and informed the team regarding the critical condition and the requirement of immediate admission and management. A little after midnight, she was directed to prepare an emergency card first. When she reached the registration counter, she was asked to get the consent of the CMO (casualty medical officer), who, however, refused the same because the CT machine wasn’t working and the ventilator was also not available," revealed the report submitted to the health secretary by JPCH.

Following this, the case was referred to Lok Nayak. The chief CMO at Lok Nayak agreed to register the patient and started management in consultation with the neurosurgery department at 1.40 am. However, the doctor on duty in the neurosurgery department refused admission, explaining that there was no ICU bed with a ventilator and nursing staff available.

Afterwards, the patient was then directed to RML at 3.45 am. Upon arrival at RML at 4 am, the CMO at the facility also declined to admit the patient, asserting that the prescription provided by Lok Nayak's neurosurgery department lacked stamps or a signature. Dr. Jyoti departed at 4.30 am with Kumar for JPCH. Unfortunately, Kumar's condition worsened during the journey, and despite administering CPR with inotrope support, he passed away at 5.45 am.

A few days later, the state health department based on a preliminary investigation advised implementing disciplinary actions and issuing suspensions to the four doctors associated with Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Hospital and Lok Nayak Hospital in connection with the case.

The four doctors were recommended for suspension after it was found that they allegedly denied treatment to the patient, even though there were beds available at the hospitals.

Also read- Denied Treatment At 3 Govt Hospitals: Delhi Man Succumbs To Injuries, Health Minister Seeks Explanation