Thane: Despite 18 deaths, these patients can go nowhere else

Puspha Ramole 60 rushed her 30yearold son Suraj to the ICU of Kalwarsquos Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital four days ago due to a severe case of malariamdasha decision that would soon bring sleepless nights to the family Over the course of 18 hours from Saturday afternoon to Sunday morning the hospital reported 18 deaths 13 of which occurred in the ICU The series of deaths began around 1115 pm on August 12 and continued until about 940 am the following dayOne after the other we heard announcements on the speaker requesting families to visit the ICU because patients had passed awayrdquo recalled Pushpa who has been staying at the hospital along with her daughterinlaw GayatriThe ICU ward in which 13 of the deaths occured at the Kalwa hospital PicEshan KalyanikarAs everyone outside the ICU unit on the hospitalrsquos first floor wondered about the unfolding events inside Pushpa said ldquoI spoke to my son on the phone He told me not to come inside unless I could be strong because a lot of people were dyingrdquolsquoDoctors keeping us in darkrsquoGayatri said the doctors share with the family very little about patientsrsquo condition or the chosen line of treatment ldquoFor days the doctors have only been telling us that they will update us on his conditionrdquo she said Suraj remains on oxygen supportKalyan MP Shrikant Shinde speaks to one of the hospital authorities on MondayAll three are vegetable sellers and reside in Vaada near Bhiwandi The family considered moving Suraj elsewhere after the events over the weekend but he will have to be transported in a vehicle with oxygen support ldquoWe canrsquot afford that nor can we pay for a private facilityrdquo Gayatri saidOn the other side are Meena and Deepak Shirke who have been waiting for 20 days for their 32yearold daughter Janhvi to be discharged She battles pneumonia and shares the same ICU as Suraj Meena works as a domestic worker while Deepak works at a libraryScenes from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital at KalwaMeena told midday ldquoWe have lost faith in the hospital after witnessing so many deaths but we have no alternatives Paristhiti nahi tar kai karnar Our situation is such What can we dordquo Both families mentioned that they were told to undergo blood tests at private facilities for which they had to spend in thousands out of their own pockets Furthermore the elderly Shirke couple said they were asked to do a blood test after midnight ldquoWe searched for a testing facility at night but could only get it done the next dayrdquo Deepak saidIn a separate incident earlier this month a family transferred a patient due to pregnancyrelated complications from a private hospital to this facility and alleged that the hospital initially refused treatment stating nonadmission of patients from other hospitals ldquoWe chose this hospital because we couldnrsquot afford it there Our relative needed a caesarean section It was only after a lot of pleading that another doctor in the hospital admitted us The next day the doctor who had initially denied treatment began shouting at usrdquo alleged a family memberIn a report by midday dated August 12 the hospitalrsquos dean Dr Rakesh Barot said the facility was overwhelmed by a large influx of patients due to monsoonrelated ailments The shortage of beds including in the ICU units has created challenges Smaller clinics and hospitals in and around Thane often refer patients to the Kalwa facilitySecurity was beefed up in the hospital on Monday as Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was expected to visit in the aftermath of the recent deaths Riot control vans stood stationed at the gates Police were conducting an inspection of the firstfloor ICU where the deaths had occurred with a sniffer dog and metal detectors Meanwhile the CMrsquos son and Kalyan MP Shrikant Shinde visited the facility and spoke with authoritiesA panel probing lsquonegligencersquoA number of ministers have already taken note of the large number of deaths within a short timeframe at the hospital A committee has been formed to investigate medical negligence on the part of the hospitalOn Thursday NCPrsquos Jitendra Awhad visited the facility in response to patient complaints On that day there were five deaths in various wards Awhad alleged medical negligence citing that a deceased body had been left in the ICU for hours after the person had passed away The hospital however explained that the body was kept there as it was mandatory for them to conduct a police panchnama before the postmortem and they were unable to move the body until a police officer had arrivedIn the meantime as reported by news agency PTI authorities have commenced the process of relocating patients with nonserious ailments and newcomers to the nearby Civil Hospital provided they are willing to be transferredAug 12Day patients began to die