Kolkata: CMRI fined Rs 2 L for delay in CT brain

As far as CMRI is concerned, it has been fined for conducting a CT scan of a patient's brain 12 hours after a doctor advised the test. The commission further stated that a neurosurgeon arrived to examine the patient 14 hours after admission.

The complainant himself is a medical practitioner from Howrah and his father, a 76-year old suffered a cerebral attack. However, he survived. He suffered a second attack and was rushed to a nearby hospital and he had to undergo a CT scan there. The hospital advised taking the patient to a better-equipped hospital. Hence, the patient was admitted to CMRI on 6th January late at night. The patient was tested COVID positive.

As the patient was COVID positive, he was admitted to the emergency department. However, the doctor did not attend to the patient immediately and only visited him after hours. The patient was already in a critical condition, hence, he was shifted to the ICU from the Emergency. The commission found from records that the junior doctor at the ICU had advised 'repeat CT Brain'. But the CT scan was conducted 12-and-a-half hours later.

Retired judge Ashim Banerjee, chairperson of the commission stated, " There was a huge delay in conducting the CT Scan and even the neurosurgeon came to examine the patient 14 or 15 hours after admission. When we questioned the hospital about the delay, it stated that as the patient was COVID positive, he can only undergo a CT scan at a particular time to ensure the safety of non-COVID patients. Hence, there was a delay. The neurosurgeon, appearing before the bench, stated that he visited the patient as soon as he was called and also added that the patient was in a critical condition and there is no guarantee that he could be saved by conducting an early CT Scan."

At this, the patient's son stated that though the scan did not guarantee his father's survival, it could definitely give him a chance to get timely treatment. After considering the submission of both the hospital and the patient's son, Mr. Banerjee stated, "We cannot pinpoint his death to the delay… but there was negligence on the part of CMRI that we could not overlook. We imposed a penalty of Rs 2 lakh on the hospital."