A 24-year-old man from Tollygunge, who was suffering from a severe pain in the groin, died at the NRS Medical College and Hospital early on Tuesday after moving from one government hospital to another throughout the night for treatment.
Meghnath Chanda was declared dead around 9am on Tuesday, while his family was still struggling to complete admission formalities at the government hospital in Sealdah.
Family members said they had taken Meghnath to three government hospitals, including two medical colleges, before turning up at NRS.
“At NRS, I fell at the feet of doctors requesting them to treat my son. They insisted on getting the admission documents and the ticket,” said Sujata Chanda, his mother.
“Around 9am, I barged into the ward. They wouldn’t allow me. But I forced my way in. Doctors were thumping my son’s chest. He died soon thereafter.”
The Tollygunge Road residents first took Meghnath to MR Bangur Superspeciality Hospital in Tollygunge around 10pm on Monday after he complained of an unbearable pain in the groin.
Hours before he had told his mother that he had suffered a fall while driving his two-wheeler in the evening.
“A few days back, Meghnath had injured his groin while playing football,” said Abdul Mustak, a friend. “On Monday night, the pain relapsed after he fell from the two-wheeler.”
At MR Bangur, doctors in the emergency ward prescribed an ointment and some medicines and asked those accompanying the youth to bring him back in the morning if the pain remained.
“The pain did not go. His right leg started swelling. The pain became unbearable around 1am and he was taken to SSKM Hospital,” said Pritam Saha, an acquaintance of the family.
Doctors at SSKM did an X-ray and an ultra-sonography before telling the family that there was nothing wrong with the patient. They gave him a tetvac injection.
“The doctors said the reports did not show any abnormality,” Mustak said. “They advised the family to take Meghnath to Chittaranjan National Medical College for further tests.”
Around 3.30am, the family shifted Meghnath to the hospital in Park Circus, where doctors suggested that he be taken to NRS. “The doctors at National Medical said there weren’t good surgeons there and urged us to shift him to NRS,” Pritam said.
Meghnath was taken to NRS hospital in Sealdah around 4.45am, family members said. They alleged that the staff in the emergency ward initially refused to pay attention to the youth, who was writhing in pain lying on an iron trolley.
Around 5.30am, the patient was taken into a ward and the family was asked to complete the formalities for admission. Around 9am, he was declared dead.
Meghnath’s mother Sujata later lodged a complaint alleging medical negligence with Entally police station. A copy of the complaint was sent to NRS authorities.
NRS denied negligence.“The patient had an accident on Monday and the family brought him to the hospital around 6.30am. Doctors had planned surgery but he unfortunately collapsed,” said Santanu Sen, Trinamul MP and chairman of the hospital’s Rogi Kalyan Samity.
Ajay Kumar Ray, principal of National Medical College, and Manimoy Bandyopadhyay, administrative head of SSKM Hospital, did not answer calls from The Telegraph.
Sisir Naskar, superintendent of MR Bangur hospital, said he was on duty at Ganga Sagar Mela and was only aware that the patient was taken to the hospital around 10pm. “I don’t have the documents,” he said.
Siddhartha Negoi, director of state health services, said: “We are looking into the allegations. But it can happen with a patient who has suffered an injury in his leg. Such a patient can suddenly develop embolism.”