MADIKERI: An 80-year-old patient died in the District Hospital in Madikeri after he slipped off from the terrace. The patient's kin has blamed the hospital’s mismanagement and lack of security as the reason for the death. An FIR in this regard has been filed at Madikeri Police Station.
KA Poonacha (80), was a resident of Vontiangadi in Arvathoklu of Siddapura limits. He was a general physician and was popularly called as Dr Pushpa by the patients across Siddapura. On Monday, he visited the District Hospital to get a cataract operation. Poonacha was admitted to the general ward and had to stay overnight as the operation was to be conducted on Tuesday morning. As sources confirmed, his driver accompanied him to the hospital and he was at the ward till 10 pm on Monday. Later, the driver left the ward and slept in the car parked at the hospital premises.
On Tuesday morning, Poonacha’s wife received a call from the hospital management who stated that Poonacha was missing from the ward. “The nurses, doctors and hospital staff searched for my father everywhere and they could not find him. My mother rushed to the hospital and she went looking for my father. She and our driver found my father lying dead by the lift. He had fallen from over 50 feet height – from the fourth-floor terrace of the hospital,” explained Ksheera, one of the daughters of the victim.
She alleged that the hospital lacked proper security and no one was at the centre during the night shift.
“A patient in the same ward shared that my father left the ward at around 3.30 am. He might have gone to the toilet but might have got confused as he is old. However, none of the hospital staff noticed that my father was missing and everyone realized this only after 5.30 am. This is the pathetic state of the government hospital,” she shared, adding that the incident must be brought to light to ensure that such incidents do not repeat in the future.
When questioned regarding the incident, the dean of Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences Dr K Cariappa said, “The hospital has a shortage of staff. We had not locked the terrace as the staff went to check the water level. However, it will be locked in the future.”