Coimbatore Medical College Hospital faces negligence allegations after accident victim's death

Coimbatore: Medical negligence allegations have been raised against Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) after a final-year BA History student from Government Arts College died following an accident. Students from the college staged a protest, accusing the hospital of negligence in his treatment. However, hospital authorities denied the charges, calling it a misunderstanding.

Demanding justice for the student's death, more than 100 students from various departments of the Government Arts College gathered at CMCH, accusing the hospital of hiding the student’s real condition. They claimed that when they learned his condition was serious, they requested to shift him to another hospital, but CMCH refused and assured them he would recover.

However, Dean M Geetanjali clarified that the student had severe polytrauma and was in a critical condition, which made immediate surgery dangerous. She said the patient received full treatment for 36 hours, and the belief that no surgery was done is a misunderstanding.

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As per a recent media report by TNIE, the incident occurred on October 8 when the 19-year-old student, K Vasanthakumar, met with an accident on the Ukkadam–Sungam bypass while returning from college. He suffered severe head injuries and was brought to CMCH, where he was treated in the emergency ward. The next day, he became unconscious and was declared dead on Friday morning while undergoing treatment.

After his demise, his family members refused to accept the body and staged a protest outside the super-speciality block along with the college students, accusing the hospital of negligence and poor treatment.

Talking to TNIE, the students said, "Since Wednesday, doctors and staff have not revealed anything about the treatment to us. When his condition deteriorated, we asked hospital authorities to shift him to another private hospital for further treatment. However, they did not allow this and gave false assurance that he would recover. We could have saved him if they had allowed this. In the last two days, they have not provided proper treatment. He died due to their negligence, and they should take responsibility," a student said.

However, the protest was called off after the hospital authorities held talks with student representatives and parents of the deceased. Later, the relatives accepted the remains of the deceased.

Refuting the medical negligence allegations, Dean M Geetanjali said, "When the student was admitted, he had polytrauma like brain swelling, as well as a fractured pelvis and other bones, and was critical. If he had been given anaesthesia immediately and operated on, he would have died immediately. He was in the hospital for 36 hours for treatment, and all necessary procedures were performed. There has been a misunderstanding among students that he did not undergo any surgery," she said.

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