Calcutta, Nov. 13: A patient who was told a week ago he needed emergency surgery died today after the hospital kept postponing the operation.

Tayeb Hussain, rushed to Medical College and Hospital with a painful stomach last Sunday, died without a single doctor anywhere near his bed.

Alleging negligence, his family has lodged complaints with hospital authorities and Bowbazar police against the doctors on the shift.

The 55-year-old Hussain, a resident of KB First Lane in Narkeldanga, had been taken to a local hospital after he felt an excruciating pain in his stomach. The doctors there suggested the patient could be suffering from a severe abdominal problem like appendicitis, and might need surgery. The family quickly took Hussain to Medical College and Hospital.

“The doctors at the emergency ward told us he required immediate surgery. They asked us to get some tests ? such as some blood tests and an X-ray ? done so that a proper diagnosis could be made,” said Mohammad Imtiaz, Hussain’s nephew.

The family was told it was too late in the evening to get the tests carried out at the hospital; so they got them done at a private clinic. By the time they returned with the patient, the doctors had strangely turned reluctant about the operation.

With Hussain’s condition deteriorating, the family pleaded with the doctors to do something fast. The doctors relented and Hussain was admitted to the general surgical ward around 5 am on Monday.

“The doctors still said he would have to undergo an operation, but would not specify when or why,” a relative said.

Finally, surgery was set for Tuesday morning. “But that morning, they told us the patient wasn’t in a good enough condition for an operation. Some nurses later said the operation couldn’t be done because of a long queue,” Imtiaz alleged.

With little choice but to wait, the family was hoping the surgery could be carried out this weekend, but Hussain suddenly fell ill this morning.

“Blood oozed out of his mouth, but the nurses said he was fine. They would not call a doctor,” a family member said.

Around 2 pm, the nurses told the family Hussain was dead. “There wasn’t a single doctor in sight and the nurses, too, melted away,” Imtiaz said.

Later, a mob from Narkeldanga gathered at the gates and a quarrel broke out with the guards. Police calmed tempers. “We shall look into this case very seriously,” said A. Biswas, deputy medical superintendent of the hospital.