Thane: Ruckus after rumours of five deaths in a day in Kalwa hospital’s ICU

A grab from the video on social media that shows NCP leader Jitendra Awhad at the hospital

After rumours of five deaths in the ICU on Thursday at a Kalwa hospital, its dean has clarified that of these only one was in the ICU and the others were not due to negligence. Also on Thursday night, a video surfaced on social media, showing NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad shouting at the staff at Kalwa's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital over alleged medical negligence due to the rumours.

"I received a call from a woman who stated that her husband was left in the ICU hours after his death. How appropriate is it to keep a deceased person in the ICU for so long?" Awhad later told the press. He also criticised the hospital for lacking basic infrastructure.

The dean of the hospital, Dr Rakesh Barot, had a different version. "There was a patient who had a history of alcohol abuse and hadn't consumed alcohol for two to three days. He experienced convulsions (seizures) at home. Subsequently, he was brought to the casualty where it was discovered that he had aspirated on his vomit prior to arrival. As a result, he had developed aspiration pneumonia," explained Dr Barot.

On the rumours that in all five patients had died on Thursday in the ICU, Dr Barot clarified that there was only one death in the ICU and the other deaths were in other wards due to various reasons but not negligence.

The hospital is currently overwhelmed by a large influx of patients due to monsoon-related ailments. There is a shortage of beds, including in the ICU units. "The patient came to us in a critical condition, so we started treatment.

He was placed on a stretcher before being admitted to the ICU, but unfortunately we couldn't revive him," the dean stated.

This marked the beginning of the chaos that was to follow. "The death occurred at 6:45pm, and Awhad arrived at the hospital around 9:15pm. We needed to determine the cause of the patient's death and conduct a post-mortem examination," Barot explained.

But before a post-mortem examination, a police panchanama needs to be conducted. "The officers took some time to arrive, which is why the body was kept in the ICU as we couldn't disturb potential evidence," the dean clarified.

There were also allegations that a pregnant woman had died due to negligence. "That was a rumour. No pregnant woman died at the hospital on the day of his visit," Barot said.