'Power cut claims life of swine flu patient in hospital'

Bengaluru. Mar 2: The family of a 53-year-old man, diagnosed with swine flu, said he died at the State-run Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) in the City on Sunday as ventilators shut down following a power cut.

The hospital authorities attributed B G Ganesh’s death to his deteriorating health condition, but admitted that there was a power cut followed by ventilator shutdown in the intensive care unit (ICU) where he was undergoing treatment.

Ganesh was an auto consultant and a resident of Bapujinagar on Mysuru Road. His relatives staged a protest in front of RGICD, off Nimhans campus, on Sunday afternoon against the “negligence”.

Uma, Ganesh’s wife, said he was admitted to hospital on February 20. She said he died as the ventilator shut down at 3 am on Sunday following a power cut. On alerting the hospital authorities, Uma claimed she was asked to wait till they got the device functioning again.

“We were asked to wait till it was repaired. He was declared dead at 4:30 am, and we were forced to take the body without a post-mortem,” she said.

Ganesh’s family claimed he had nearly recovered and was shifted from the ICU to the H1N1 ward on Friday. However, since he experienced respiratory problems on Sunday, he was shifted back to the ICU.

RGICD medical director Dr Shashidhar Buggi said: “There was a power cut. However, we have a 250-kW generator for the campus. There were technical issues due to which there was power cut in the Medical Intensive Care Unit. At 4:15 am, I got a call from the hospital regarding the power cut.”

He added: “Soon, we had instructed that all patients be treated with hand-held ventilators and be moved to the surgical ICU.” He added, “His (Ganesh’s) condition was critical. His condition was co-morbid as he was obese. This is the cause of death.”

Minister for Medical Education Dr Sharan Prakash R Patil has sought a report on the incident, reports DHNS from Bengaluru. Patil said he has directed officials concerned to visit the hospital. “No compensation will be given to the family. However, if the doctors are found guilty, action will be taken against them,” he said.