The death of a patient under treatment at the state-run Malda Medical College & Hospital (MMCH) led to unrest on its campus on Thursday.
Dukhu Aheri, a 45-year-old daily wage earner from Sukandighi in the Old Malda block, was discovered missing from the ward on Thursday morning where he had been admitted for treatment since Tuesday. A few hours later, his body was found on
the campus.
Sources said Dukhu was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday around 10pm with high fever and some other complications. His wife Chintamoni was with him till 9pm on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, when Chintamoni went to see her husband, she could not find him in the ward.
“As it is a male ward, I was not allowed to stay the night. This morning, as I went to the ward to meet him, he was not there,” she said.
She started searching for Dukhu along with some others. After some time, his body was found near an under-construction building of the MMCH, barely 100 metres away from the ward where he was under treatment.
“The on-duty nurses and others did not take care of my husband. They will have to clarify how he died,” Chinatamoni added.
Chintamoni filed complaints with the MMCH authorities and Englishbazar police.
Prasenjit Bar, the medical superintendent cum vice-principal of MMCH, said they suspected that the patient walked out of the ward, taking advantage of the inattentiveness of the guards.
“We will conduct a probe. Also, after the body was recovered, it was sent for a post-mortem. We are waiting for the report on the exact cause of his death,” said Bar.
The incident has also led to political repercussions in the district as the BJP and the Left have slammed the state government over the government’s health infrastructure.
“Facilities in the MMCH are less than those of a rural hospital. How can a patient walk out of the ward and die? There is a complete lapse on the part of the authorities,” said Amlan Bhaduri, a BJP leader.
K.N. Choudhury, the chairman of Malda municipality and the state’s nominee of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti in MMCH, said they are waiting for the inquiry report.
“I will talk to the authorities. If the investigation reveals negligence on the part of one or more employees, appropriate steps would be taken,” he said.