Woman dies after hospital takes its time to admit her

A 25-year-old mother of a baby boy died in Shatabdi Hospital on Friday allegedly because she was refused admission in time by the doctor on duty. By the time she was admitted almost eight hours later, it was too late.

The Kandivali police which has filed an accidental death report (ADR) in the case is investigating the case after the medical superintendent sent a letter to the family accepting the mistake of the on-duty doctor Dr Amit Patil.

Swati Jaiswal, a resident of Kandivali, was apparently ill for the past one week. Sandeep Dubey, a family friend of the Jaiswals, said the husband-wife duo had visited the hospital around 8 pm on Wednesday. However after checking Swati’s condition, Dr Patil, the on-duty doctor at the casualty department, asked the family to return in the morning.

“The doctor straightaway asked the family to get a check-up done in the outpatient department (OPD) of the hospital the next morning. We first requested him, then debated and argued with him to get her admitted immediately, but he simply called the security and asked us to leave the hospital,” said Mr Dubey, who had accompanied the couple to the hospital.

Mr Dubey further said that as it was already 12.30 am, and Swati was in no condition to return home, the couple decided to wait in the garden of the hospital rather than return home. “We told the doctor we wouldn’t go back till we got her admitted,” said Mr Dubey.

However, around 2.30 am, Swati’s condition deteriorated, and she started gasping. Mr Dubey said she was again rushed to the casualty ward which finally admitted her around 4 am. Post check-up and reports, the doctors found out that her platelet count had dropped to a dangerous 19,000 and her condition was critical.

However, merely an hour after she was admitted, she stopped responding to treatment and was declared dead.

The furious family members then visited the medical superintendent of the hospital to report the incident, said Mr Dubey.

Dr Krishna Pimple, MS, of the hospital said it had launched a preliminary inquiry against the doctor. “The doctor said the patient’s vitals were stable and so he didn’t admit her and had asked the family to come in the morning. However, the patient’s condition deteriorated quickly and she passed away within hours. The family has complained about the matter and we informed them that we have launched an inquiry in the matter,” said Mr Pimple.

Although the initial report after the post mortem has confirmed that pneumonia was the primary cause of death, the final report is awaited as the viscera and blood samples have been sent to the Kalina forensic lab.