BHUBANESWAR: Some lucky patients admitted in the ICU at SUM Hospital escaped the massive fire that broke out on Monday night on their floor, which killed 20 people, but had a hellish ordeal getting from one hospital to another in their critically ill condition.
In fact, one of them Harihar Malla, who was diagnosed with intra-cranial bleeding, and was moved last night from SUM to AIIMS Bhubaneswar, succumbed to his internal injuries this morning. Malla’s death took the toll of the fire to 20. Of the rest of the patients shifted from SUM, the condition of one who is in the casualty and one in the ICU at AIIMS is deemed critical.
By 11 pm yesterday, a total of 45 patients had been rushed to AIIMS — some directly from SUM hospital and others first referred to Capital Hospital at Unit VI and then moved. The patients and their kin faced a hard time having to flee the fire-ravaged floor of SUM Hospital and search for emergency vehicles to transport them to AIIMS.
Soon after news of the SUM fire broke, AIIMS authorities had activated disaster management protocol and readied beds and posted paramedical staff in the corridor leading to the main building to receive incoming patients. The casualty too was kept ready. However, the arrangements were not adequate to deal with the number of seriously ill patients who were being shifted from the ICU of SUM hospital.
“The transit was not easy and it was utterly discomforting,” said Padmabati Das, whose cousin Saroj Parida had had a massive brain stroke and was admitted to the SUM hospital yesterday. “As soon as we got an inkling that a fire had broken out on the second floor, we requested sisters nearby for help,” she said.
But deciding not to kill precious time by waiting, Parida’s wife and his cousin assisted him, literally dragging the patient to safety. They got help only after ascending two floors and got into an ambulance. “With medical apparatus intact, we had great difficulty in bringing him down,” said Das.
Parida is now continuing his treatment at AIIMS, which his family says lacks adequate facilities and is contemplating moving to another private hospital in the city.
Biswanath Behera, a leukaemia patient has been under treatment at SUM hospital for the past three months. His family members choked with emotions while narrating the harrowing experience they had while shifting Behera to AIIMS from the doomed floor which was engulfed by the fire.
Behera, a carpenter from Dumduma housing board colony, had exhausted all his resources in his battle with cancer. Yet he and his family were forced to fend for themselves when he was shuttled from one hospital to another to yet another. On Monday, he was first ferried from SUM Hospital to Capital Hospital, where doctors refused to admit him and referred him to AIIMS.
“I had to shell out Rs 1,000 to book a private vehicle to shift my husband from Capital Hospital, amidst complete chaos,” said Sanjukta, Behera’s wife.
The condition of Anjulata Palei’s husband, who is suffering from peptic ulcer is severe. While the patient has been surviving on nasal feeding for the past two weeks, his condition worsened after being evacuated from SUM Hospital.
“I had to rush my husband in an auto-rickshaw, as no emergency vehicle was available at that time outside the hospital campus. The situation here at AIIMS is no better,” said Anjulata, a resident of Tangarpada in Keonjhar, adding that her family was considering shifting the patient back to SUM hospital.
On Tuesday morning Governor SC Jamir visited AIIMS Bhubaneswar and held a round of discussion with Director Dr Geetanjali Batmanabane and Medical Superintendent Dr DK Parida regarding the condition of the patients and the infrastructure available in the casualty.
“I am in constant touch with the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare (JP Nadda)and have briefed him about the situation. The doctors and staff at AIIMS are fully prepared and trained to attend to the patients,” Dr Geetanjali said. She, however, denied that there was any negligence in the way patients were shifted from SUM hospital.