Calcutta, Nov. 6: A young accident victim needing emergency trauma care to stand a chance of his legs being saved is facing amputation after going without treatment for a crucial six-hour period during which five city hospitals turned him away.

Tausif Khan, a 21-year-old assistant chef in a housing estate club on EM Bypass, received no medical attention except cotton dressing from around 10pm on Wednesday till dawn yesterday as friends and relatives hauled him around the city trying to find a hospital that would admit him. (See chart)

By the time Tausif found a hospital bed — at Desun Hospital, beside Ruby — it was past 4am. A team of doctors led by orthopaedic surgeon Biplab Dalui was to operate on him late tonight.

“We know for sure that a part of his legs will have to be amputated. How much is a question that can be answered only in the operation theatre,” said plastic surgeon Pradip Sen.

Could Tausif’s legs have been saved with immediate treatment?

Critical care specialist Arijit Bose said every minute was “crucial” to preventing amputation of damaged limbs. “If there is severe vascular damage or rupture of blood vessels, a delay of six hours would certainly eliminate the possibility of saving a limb. But you can save it with quick treatment.”

Denial of treatment is a crime under law. A Supreme Court ruling states that no hospital or nursing home has the right to turn away a patient in a life or limb-saving situation for any reason. The Bengal Clinic Establishment Act contains a similar clause.

Peerless Hospital denied turning away Tausif, saying employees on night duty had merely informed his relatives about the estimated cost of treatment.

“We always give a patient’s relatives an estimate of the costs. The patient came to us with both legs smashed, which would have required specialised treatment costing up to Rs 2 lakh. We didn’t force them to deposit half the amount, as alleged. It is they who backed out saying they couldn’t afford to pay so much,” a spokesperson for the hospital said.

Tausif’s uncle Md. Jahangir Khan said Peerless charged Rs 8,000 to dress Tausif’s wounds. “The doctor on duty even told us, ‘Aap garib aadmi ho, yahaan ilaj nahi karwa payenge (You are poor. You can’t afford the treatment here)’.”

The medical superintendent and vice-principal of SSKM, Debashis Bhattacharya, said he was unaware of a critically injured patient being turned away by his hospital. “I would request the family to lodge a complaint. I will institute an inquiry to find out if all the beds in the emergency department were occupied.”

Tausif’s elder brother Asif, a trainee engineer in Guwahati, said he couldn’t bear to think that his brother was close to losing both his legs.

Tausif, whose roots are in Darbhanga district of Bihar, was waiting for transport on EM Bypass along with some friends on Wednesday night when a speeding mini-truck came straight at them. The chef was knocked down and dragged more than 10 feet.