KOLLAM: The district administration on Monday ordered an inquiry into the incident where three heart patients lost their life hours after they were subjected to angioplasty at the Heart Centre of Ashramam ESI Hospital. The decision comes after the relatives of the victims laid siege to the hospital Superintendent. They alleged the deaths were due to the medical negligence of the Heart Centre which is operated by a leading private hospital in the district.“Considering the law and order situation prevailing at the hospital, I had ordered an inquiry into the allegations.
An expert team consisting of Kollam DMO, a cardiologist and an anaesthetist will look into the incident. They will not only hear the complainants but also the version of the hospital authorities and the Heart Centre. They were asked to submit a report in two weeks,” said S Chithra, Kollam Sub-Collector.
Meanwhile, the district committee of Confederation of Central Government Employees, an association of Ashramam ESI Hospital, in a statement alleged there were attempts to unnecessarily drag the name of the hospital into the incident.
“The incident has been reported from the Heart Centre. The ESI Hospital is not involved with the said incidents. It is condemnable the doctors and staff of the hospital were being dragged into this incident. A department-level inquiry is in progress and those who raise allegations will have to wait,” B Ajayakumar, secretary of the association , said.Meanwhile, the relatives of the victims, Sadasivan of Polayathodu, Usha and Madhusoodanan Pillai of Injavila, said they were not consulted before conducting angioplasty procedure.
When the mishap occurred the doctor who led the surgery cited that diabetes is the reason behind their deaths, they said. 1 While Sadasivan and Usha died after surgery on September 22, Madhusoodanan’s death was reported on September 23. Earlier, in 2016, the CBI’s Kochi wing had conducted a raid at the hospital’s office upon receiving complaints regarding financial misappropriation and opaqueness involved with the referral system there.The CBI then inquired about the complaint that some doctors in the hospital often refer patients to one or two private hospitals. The CBI which suspects a tie-up between some ESI doctors and private hospitals also doubts these doctors get a commission for doing the same.