ICU patient dies, kin say he fell from bed, go to police

GURUGRAM: A 55-year-old man, who had been suffering from diarrhoea, died after allegedly falling off a bed at the emergency ward of a private hospital in Palam Vihar on Thursday. Family members lodged a complaint alleging negligence on part of the hospital, after which an FIR was registered.

Ramphal was rushed to Metro Hospital and Heart Institute in Palam Vihar by his son and son-in-law after his condition worsened in his home in Pataudi’s Khanpur village. He was soon admitted to the emergency ward of the hospital. Ramphal’s son Sukendra has alleged that after a couple of hours, hospital doctors told him that his father was in a critical condition and had to be shifted to the ICU. Sukendra and Ramphal’s son-in-law Sandeep agreed.

But when they went to see Ramphal in ICU, they noticed injury marks on his head and blood stains on his clothes. Sandeep repeatedly asked Ramphal about the injury but he did not respond. Doctors and other medical staff forced the duo to leave the ICU, claiming the patient was still under treatment, the family claimed. “At this, we called some of our relatives to the hospital and demanded to see the patient. After some protests, the hospital authorities agreed and we went inside the ICU. My father-in-law was dead at that time,” Sandeep said, “I had tried to speak to him earlier but he didn’t respond. He fell due to the negligence of the doctors.”

Vikram Kumar, SHO of Palam Vihar police station, said, “An FIR has been registered against the owner, doctors and other medical staff of the hospital. The autopsy has revealed multiple injuries on the body,” said Dr Deepak Mathur, forensic expert. The hospital authorities could not be contacted.