NEVER visit this hospital. Most irresponsible & the worst Hospital…
RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Science
My father(hence referred to as ‘the patient’) was admitted to the hospital(RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Science) at 4 AM of November 16, 2013 under the medical condition when he could not stand on his own feet and also had altered voice. He was taken to Emergency.
CT scan was conducted on the patient at around 6 AM(It took 2 hours to conduct the test when the patient was apparently suffering from problem of MCA/ nervous system which generally requires the probable anti thrombosis process to be conducted within three hours). The resident doctors diagnosed the case(as conveyed by them verbally) to be of brain haemorrhage(Which later on diagnosed to be a case of MCA infarct). The right treatment could not be started within three hours which proved to be fatal in the end. It is not known what transpired among the doctors, the neurological specialist of the hospital Dr Amlan Mondal could reach the hospital only at 11 AM. He advised MRI of the brain which was conducted around 4 PM. The report was delivered to the doctors around 5 PM and it was confirmed that it was infarct and not haemorrhage. The treatment was probably started after that, which was surely too late and there are all possibilities that there might be multiple strokes during these long 13 to 14 hours(The correlation may be established between the reports of the CT scan conducted in the morning and the MRI conducted in the evening). By evening, the infarct was too large obviously because of the failure of the hospital to provide right treatment at right time(entailing procrastination/ sluggish approach and negligence on part of the hospital), which probably caused the death of the patient as it was virtually impossible for the patient to recover from such stage. It is noteworthy that the GCS of the patient at the time of admission was 15 which deteriorated to 13 by evening and further to 9 on the next day.
It is a generally known fact that such infarct may lead to hemorrhage between 3rd to 7th day. Given this fact, the doctor was repeatedly requested to monitor the case closely and conduct as many tests as required. The doctor never conducted any test which could assess such happening(despite the fact that patient’s consciousness level was sinking every moment and the GCS level was varying between 8 to 10, considered extremely critical) till the night of the 6th day when the case had slipped out of their hand(that too when Dr Amlan Mondal was requested by another neuro-physician to do so). The doctor advised the MRI on 21st November at 1 PM while the test was conducted at 10:30 PM. Apparently, the rapid deterioration in the consciousness level(mainly after 3rd day) was due to a probable haemorrhage of brain which could only be detected on the day when he died. The doctor had explained that surgery is considered to be last resort to reduce the pressure in the brain. But, neither any neuro surgeon was consulted to explore the possibilities nor was there any system in the hospital to monitor the condition. The radiology centre(CT Scan/ MRI) is located in a building other than the one having ICU. The patients are taken on stretchers with holters in open air, however chiiling the climate is. It is inhuman to shift patients who are in critical condition on bumpy roads in adverse weather condition.
On the first day Dr Amlan Mondal had asserted that the biggest concern is the prevention of infection in the body. Despite this fact, proper care was not taken by the hospital even in the ITU(Intensive Treatment Unit) and the patient was allowed to develop infection in the chest. The visitors to the patient requested repeatedly the duty doctors and the staffs deployed there in ITU to cleanse the saliva clotted at the mouth which was badly stinking in two days. The negligence of the ITU staffs allowed the saliva to slip down to the lungs in three to four days. The most dreaded development could not be prevented by the hospital ITU. Had the hospital been serious in saving his life, there could have been arrangements for the regular suction of the saliva, may be after every two hours. Later on infection was stated to be most important reason for multiple organ failure.
On the fourth day, the patient was shifted from ITU 6(Bed No 18) to ITU 4(Bed No. 3). It is very clear and can be verified from CCTV recordings, if available, that the quality of monitoring of patients in ITU 4(Old, dirtier, suffocating and secluded as compared to new, cleaner, more sophisticated and more vigorously monitored by larger number of doctors) is extremely poor as compared to ITU 6. It is not known why a critical patient, who was under severe life threat, was shifted from a more vigorously monitored ward to less cared ward(Notwithstanding the fact that both are named as ITU). It is worth noting that the condition of the patient started deteriorating only after this shifting. How many patients in ITU 6 were in more critical condition than this patient that led to his shifting(How many co-patients died). Why only he was considered for shifting?
Despite the fact that the patient had a long history of diabetes and was under the treatment of Dr Sanyal(A diabetologist in the same hospital, who also visited the patient in the ITU), the sugar level was not controlled in the ITU and was allowed to rise beyond 350. This is one more example of complacent approach of the hospital ITU towards the treatment of a critical patient.
The cardiologist, Dr Abhijit Chatterjee was also not serious towards the patient. On the evening of 21st November, the patient’s heart rate was continuously rising and had risen from 112 to 130 in two hours, from 4 PM to 6 PM(which went up to 170 by 9 PM). When the attendants to the patient met the cardiologist at 6:30 in his room, the doctor told that he is only bothered about the heart and he was not concerned about the left and right of it. He added that he had given proper medicines to the patient which would take care of the patient’s conditions. When the patient’s heart rate was rising, the attendants requested the ITU staffs to consult the cardiologist, they responded coldly that the doctor had given the medicines and these were administered accordingly. The sluggish approach of the hospital ITU and the doctor resulted in a fatal cardiac arrest next morning.
The respiratory rate of the patient was around 40 to 45 on the evening of November 21st, 2013 which was too high. There cannot be any body which can support such situation for too long. At this point, ideally, ventilator support should have been given to the patient who was provided only in the next morning. The hospital informed at 8 AM that the patient was put on ventilation support. After half an hour, the hospital again informed that the patient had suffered a cardiac arrest. The delay in providing the ventilation support in time and the poor quality cardiac care resulted in heart attack.
In one more shocking event, Dr Amlan Mondal, the doctor under whom the patient was admitted, decided to proceed on leave for three days from November 22nd, 2013. When the patient was fighting with his life on the evening of November 21st, 2013, no doctor was available to take care of the patient’s condition. When the attendants of the patient tried to contact Dr Amlan Mondal through proper channel, through the admission counter, the call was not picked. When Dr D. Chatterjee, a doctor at CMRI(who had to take care of the patients of Dr Mondal in his absence), was contacted by the officials, he categorically told that he would be available only from the next day, as per his agreement.(He came the next day at 11 AM and declared that the patient had slipped in deep Coma and stated it to be a ‘Point of No Return’). When the patient’s condition was deteriorating very fast on the evening of 21st November, 2013, there was no doctor available to take a decisive view on his condition, as the doctors at ITU were firmly stereotype that the medicines are being administered as given by the doctors. The attendants could not do more than allowing the patient to die at their hands.
It is worth mentioning that the patient was admitted to the same hospital exactly one month back(On 16th November, 2013) under carbuncle in the right scalp, severe infection in the head and high sugar level. The doctor, Dr S.K. Dubey, general surgeon, suggested stoppage of one medicine, Deplat A(A Blood thinner, which the patient had been taking his bypass surgery of the heart for the last thirteen years) in anticipation of a probable surgery requirement. The patient was discharged after one week without the advice for the continuance of Deplat A and also without any advice of review. Subsequently, the doctors said that this became the prime reason of the brain stroke suffered by the doctor.
The hospital does not have efficient system to deal with the critically ill patients and the mortality rate is quite high in case of genuine critical patients. Patients may be shifted to ITUs on the discretion of the doctors(till the beds are full) and are taken out of ITUs when a more critical patient comes. This is their business strategy to earn maximum and to show successful treatment of so classified critical patients(which could have easily been treated even outside ITUs also). The hospital has no value for the life of patients and they do not refer the cases to other hospitals even when they do not have proper arrangements to save lives. The hospital is thus working against the interest of the common man and is a threat to the society as it is easily misleading the society by its business advertisements. The license of such hospitals may be snatched so that it may not KILL other critical patients.
The doctors like Dr S. K. Dubey, Dr Amlan Mondal and Dr Abhijeet Chatterjee are doing experimentations with the critical patients(by treating with negligence- to gain experience?). The doctors’ license may be cancelled so that they may not play with the lives of innocent patient trapped in their hands.
The hospital may be asked to explain the followings:
1. Why Deplat A was not started despite the fact the patient had been taking the same for last 13 years.
2. Why it took 2 hours to conduct CT scan on the patient after admission to emergency.
3. Why the disease could not be diagnosed by the hospital till late evening. If it was detected in the morning, why anti thrombosis process was not started immediately(How many anti thrombosis had earlier been conducted by the hospital?).
4. Why the neuro-specialist took seven hours to reach the hospital even when the case was critical.
5. Why the case was not referred to other hospital if the hospital if the hospital was not apt enough to do so.
6. Why the patient was allowed to develop infection in the chest mainly caused by the saliva? Why all efforts had not been taken for the cleansing and suction of saliva?
7. Why the brain’s condition was not monitored regularly even when the consciousness level continued to deteriorate after third day(Given the fact that there is possibility of haemorrhage in such cases?)
8. Why the patient was moved to a different place. How many patients in ITU 6 were in more critical condition than this patient that led to his shifting(How many co-patients died). Why only he was considered for shifting?
9. Why the cardiologist could not take care of the heart rates and led to a cardiac arrest in the ITU?
10. Why no nephrologist was consulted despite the fact that there were indication of renal failure(Creatinine level of 3.92 and low urine output)? No nephrologist ever visited the patient during his admission in ITU- Another extreme case of negligence on part of the hospital.
11. Why the patient was not put on ventilation support on the evening of 21st November, 2013 despite the fact that all the medical parameters had worsen to very critical position?
12. Why the MRI was conducted at 10:30 PM on 21st November, 2013 despite the fact the test had been advised by the doctor at around 1 PM- A gross negligence by the hospital ITU?
13. Why no doctor was available(On the evening of 21st November, 2013) to take a decision on the points 8, 10 & 11 leading to the death of the patient on the next day)?
The hospital, with the help of the doctor, murdered a gentleman who was a great social worker, had no critic in this world, was loved by everyone and was in better physical health as compared to any other contemporary same age person. The hospital authorities had a pre conceived notion that the patient had many morbid factors which may lead to his death and under such impression, the patient was grossly neglected.
Apart from cancellation of the licenses of the hospital(As there is a gross lack of co-ordination among the different segments, lack of timely diagnosis & delivery of treatment), the hospital may be imposed a penalty, not for payment to the families of the deceased, but to be transferred to a professionally managed trust who can build up a stroke specialised hospital(with free treatment of poor and low cost treatments of others), with all ICU & ITU cares so that no more innocent patients lose their life out of the negligence and casual approach of other hands.
I will sincerely advise that no one should visit this hospital else he is at all risk to lose his life.