HYDERABAD: Following the suspicious death of a critically-ill patient at the Government General and Chest Hospital at Erragadda in the city and an angry protest staged by his relatives alleging negligence, two ward boys who allegedly demanded money to provide medical services to the patient, were suspended on Tuesday. The ward boys, Dhanraj and Nayeem, demanded ` 100 to ` 150 from the patient to put him on oxygen supply and to take him to the male ward, the family members alleged.
The patient, V.Krishna (28), was suffering from bilateral extensive tuberculosis (TB)and one of his lungs was completely damaged because of the infection. Quoting doctors at the hospital, the family members said that if treatment was provided to him without delay, he could have lived for some more days.
“The ward boys asked for money (` 100 to ` 150) for the patient to be taken to the ward and they threatened that the doctor would not attend to them if money was not given and the treatment would be delayed. Our family came here from a far-off place for treatment. It is not fair for the ward boys to demand bribe to provide treatment,” said Sevya Naik, Krishna’s brother-in-law. The deceased is survived by wife Kavitha, three daughters and a son and he used to some odd jobs such as labour work to eke out a living.
The family members took the body to their native village in Nagarkurnool. Hospital superintendent Dr A Sai Kumar said the patient did not die due to lack of oxygen supply and asserted that there were no shortcomings in the treatment provided to him. However, he said, a three-member committee was formed to inquire into the reasons for the death and the allegations made by the family members. “Doctors at the hospital said ward boys were negligent and had they provided service, Krishna might have survived for a few more days,” Naik said.
“The family alleged that the ward boys demanded money for taking the patient to the ward and provide oxygen to him,” a doctor said. “The two ward boys were suspended, pending an inquiry. A committee has been constituted. We directed the nursing staff and the duty medical officer to give explanation,” Dr Sai Kumar said.