Friends and relatives of Pradip Khatoniar take out a protest march on Tuesday. Picture by UB Photos

Jan. 13: A mob ransacked the Guwahati Neurological Research Centre (GNRC) after the death of a patient because of alleged medical negligence.

The mob, comprising residents of Rukminigaon, forced its way into the hospital around 9.30am, broke windowpanes and assaulted a few members of the staff.

The patient, Pradip Khatoniar, 50, died last night of renal failure, but his relatives accused the hospital authorities of not doing enough to save his life. A family member of the deceased said the doctors did not inform anybody about the seriousness of his medical condition.

GNRC chairman-cum-managing director .C. Borah refuted the allegation, saying Khatoniar was admitted to the hospital on December 29 with angina, hypertension and diabetes. He said the patient was brought to the GNRC from another hospital after he developed complications.

“He was bleeding and subsequently suffered from renal failure. He died at 11.30pm yesterday.”

Surgeons Manoj Saikia and Navin Lal, who conducted a complex operation to save Khatoniar, said he was suffering from a rare complication. “Three of his arteries were blocked. We conducted all standard tests before the operation and did our best to save his life,” the doctors said in a statement.

Borah said the GNRC would conduct an internal investigation to ascertain if there had been any lapses by the medical staff. He said the hospital had decided to waive the Rs 2 lakh bill for Khatoniar’s treatment.

GNRC, the only super-speciality hospital in the Northeast, is planning to take “quality healthcare” to the rural areas of the region. Two subsidiaries are in the pipeline. At present, the hospital has specialises in neurology and cardiac care.

Apart from the promoters, the Industrial Development Bank of India, the International Finance Corporation, Tata Tea, NEDFi and the Assam Industries Development Corporation have a stake in the hospital, established in 1987.

Borah said the subsidiaries would be a combination of general hospitals and community healthcare centres. He said the model would be unique to the eastern region. “This is in line with the agenda of the North Eastern Council, which wants private partnership in improving healthcare infrastructure in the region.”

“The hospitals will act as the nucleus of a series of community health centres. Each hospital will have 150 beds. The community health centres will refer critically ill patients to the general hospitals. We will charge only Rs 5,000 as a package for general surgery in these hospitals,” Borah said.

The GNRC has already invested over Rs 1 crore in the project. “We have acquired land for the general hospitals in Biswanath Chariali and Bajali. The company is preparing to pump in more money into the project,” he said.

“The GNRC, with a Rs 30-crore investment, 60 resident doctors and 660 employees, is the biggest private sector hospital in the region. I am pretty confident the proposed model will be successful. Availability of funds will not be a problem because our company has a good dividend-paying record,” he added.