Patient’s death at Neyyattinkara hospital highlights systemic errors

Even as the Health Minister has sought a detailed report from the Additional Director of Health Services and the District Medical Officer on the incident at Neyyattinkara General hospital on Thursday evening wherein a patient with chest pain collapsed and died, systemic errors could have led to delay in care, it is pointed out. The family of Rajesh Kumar, 53, who collapsed and died, alleged that the security personnel had made the patient wait in queue to consult the doctor, thus delaying the treatment.

The hospital authorities, however, maintain that the patient had been examined by the casualty medical officer and that he had underwent an ECG. On seeing the ECG results, he was given the loading dose of medicine so that he could be quickly referred to the Medical College for further care, before which the patient had collapsed.

On Friday, Health Minister, K. Muraleedharan, said that the security personnel against whom the family had raised a complaint, had been dismissed and that he was awaiting the detailed enquiry report. According to sources, there were clear delays in accessing care because the casualty was crowded as always and there was no triaging system in place so that people who actually require emergency care can be seen immediately by the doctor.

“Our so-called emergency wings in public hospitals are overcrowded with fever and flu patients who should ideally be attending the morning OP clinics. Even people who need diabetic wounds dressed or sutures removed, come to the casualty in the evening hours. Only 30% of the cases coming to the casualty wings are actual health emergencies but in the absence of a triaging system, there could be genuine delays in care,” a doctor said.

The Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) said most hospitals only had one casualty medical officer, who had to deal with minor ailments, health emergencies as well as medico-legal cases. It said that it has been a long-standing demand of KGMOA that at least two casualty medical officers be posted in a single shift in the emergency wings of major hospitals and that a triaging system be put in place so that cases can be managed well.

KGMOA demanded that the government immediately implement a triaging system in major public hospitals, with adequate infrastructure and additional trained personnel so that mishaps can be avoided.