TENKASI: A 66-year-old man, bitten by a snake, died at the government hospital in Kadayanallur on Saturday after allegedly not receiving anti-venom because no doctor was available to administer it. Following the death, the health department issued memos to two nurses, claiming they failed to alert the doctor about the patient.
The deceased has been identified as C Sudarmani, a resident of Paruthivilai in Kadayanallur. He was bitten by a Russell’s viper while he was going to the toilet behind his house around 5 am on Saturday.
Relatives of Sudarmani said when his son took him to the government hospital around 5.45 am, no doctor was available. “Though we demanded that a doctor should attend to him and administer anti-snake venom, the nurses provided only first aid. As time passed, Sudarmani’s condition worsened. When a duty doctor arrived at the room after 7 am, Sudarmani had died,” they said.
Condemning the alleged apathy of the government hospital administration, the relatives gathered at the hospital and demanded action against the doctor and other staff.
The Kadayanallur police held talks. The relatives dispersed after the police assured them that action would be recommended based on the findings of the post-mortem to be performed at the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital.
Meanwhile, health officials led by joint director of health services Dr Premalatha conducted an inquiry at the hospital. She told TNIE a doctor was in the hospital’s duty room but the nurses had failed to inform him about the victim. “The nurses informed the doctor only after the man collapsed. We have issued memos to two nurses in this connection. If they had alerted the doctor, anti-snake venom could have been administered to the victim,” she added.