Kin blame Jupiter doctors for patient’s coma

Mumbai: The family of Shakila Shoeb, a 64-year-old woman, has told the Medical Council of India (MCI) that Thane’s Jupiter Hospital had provided the wrong treatment to her, which caused her to fall into a week-long coma.

Ms Khan had complained of nausea. As she was experiencing uneasiness and low blood pressure, she was rushed to Jupiter Hospital in the last week of April. She was subsequently shifted to privately run Saifee Hospital in south Mumbai and regained consciousness on Saturday.

Ms Khan’s husband, Shoeb Khan, said, “After she was admitted in Jupiter Hospital, her health deteriorated in one night. The nurses on the floor did not know how to treat her. After about 4-5 hours, they called the doctor, who also could not tackle the case,” he said.

 “Later, the doctor said that she had excess fluid in her body and gave her sodium to balance it. Later, Dr Amit Nagrik operated on her, mentioning that she had a problem in her brain and I was charged a bill of `9 lakh,” alleged Mr Khan.

However Dr Vijay Surase from Jupiter Hospital denied all the allegations, saying, “The allegations are false. The patient was suffering from metabolic encephalopathy — an abnormality related to water, electrolytes, vitamins and other chemicals, which adversely affect brain function. We gave her the necessary treatment and she was about to recover from the coma as it is not permanent.”

Meanwhile, Dr Abhay Choudhary, administrator of MCI’s state wing, the Maharshtra Medical Council, said, “We will probe the allegations... If we find that the doctor was at fault, action will be initiated.”