Relatives and friends of the patient at the private hospital in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 18: Angry relatives of a patient tried to ransack a private hospital near Doordarshan Kendra in Acharya Vihar today after they were wrongly told that she had died.

Kalpana Bal, 20, was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition on August 14 and is still in the Intensive Care Unit.

The relatives of Kalpana were looking for information about her condition when someone told them that she had died. Hearing this, and enraged that the hospital authorities were not giving them any information, they started breaking flowerpots on the hospital premises and accusing the authorities of neglecting her treatment. They alleged that it was because of their negligence that her condition had deteriorated.

“We were told that she had died. When we tried to ask the hospital officials, they avoided us and did not give us any information,” said Jayadrath Bal, husband of the woman.

Soon, other relatives and friends of the patient from Tomando gathered on the hospital premises. “We tried hard to find out about her condition, but the hospital authorities did not meet us,” said a relative. Enraged, they began breaking glass walls in the hospital.

Tension escalated when the relatives started chasing the security staff of the hospital and smashing flowerpots.

Saheed Nagar police rushed to the spot and reined in the agitators. Police said misunderstanding between the hospital authorities and the patient’s relatives had sparked violence. “We facilitated a discussion between them and the matter was resolved,” said a police officer. No case was registered.

Hospital authorities said relatives of the patient were wrongly told by someone that she was dead. They alleged that the action of the relatives and friends of the patient was motivated. However, they said they would not lodge any complaint with the police.

According to the patient’s family members, Kalpana was admitted to a private clinic after she started having labour pain. She gave birth to a child who later died, following which her condition deteriorated and her family members admitted her to this hospital on August 14.

Medical superintendent of the hospital Antaryami Nanda said when Kalpana was admitted to the hospital, her condition was very critical. She had a ruptured uterus and multiple organ failure. “We tried our best and she is recovering. She is still in the ICU,” said Nanda.