The Aam Aadmi Party today accused the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital of “criminal negligence” over a patient’s death after he was allegedly turned away by it, a charge the hospital authorities have vehemently denied.
According to AAP, its former Kondli MLA, Manoj Kumar found out that the deceased was brought to the LBS hospital at Khichripur in East Delhi hospital with injuries on his head, arm and legs. The party alleged that the patient was turned away on Friday night and was left outside the hospital gate on a stretcher.
“The badly injured patient spent two nights in the bitter cold and died on Sunday night. Local residents tried to provide him warm clothes and blankets, but this was not enough to save his life.
“The shocking incident of a patient’s death outside the gate of LBS after he was turned away by the hospital authorities in severe cold weather, is a clear case of criminal negligence. This case highlights the extremely sorry state of affairs in the national capital and the unresponsive Delhi administration,” the party said in a statement.
Hospital authorities vehemently denied AAP’s charges. A senior doctor from the hospital said that the deceased was brought in a PCR van and the AAP MLA created a ruckus in the casualty and also misbehaved with the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) on duty that time.
“We have scrutinised all our records and there was no patient who was turned away by the hospital authorities,” the doctor, said, adding that the deceased had a fracture on his right hand.
“The AAP MLA created a hue and cry in the hospital and blamed us for the death of the patient. But the deceased was brought in a PCR van. He (the MLA) also spoke to the doctor in an abusive manner. Seeing the situation going out of control, the CMO had also called the police.”
The person’s identity has not been ascertained and the body has been kept in the mortuary.
“If nobody comes to claim the body within 72 hours we will perform an autopsy which will reveal the cause of his death,” the doctor added.
The incident took place under the jurisdiction of Kalyan Puri Police Station, which is trying to identify the victim.