HYDERABAD: In a new twist to road accident victim L Prakash's death saga that sparked off a protest outside Gandhi hospital, his medical records proved that doctors at Osmania General Hospital had indeed cited unavailability of ventilator support.
That OGH's neuro-surgery ward did not have ventilator support on September 18 when Prakash was made to shuttle between Gandhi hospital and OGH without treatment for four hours. It was clearly established by the case report written by doctors treating at both the hospitals.
It may be recalled that OGH superintendent Dr GVS Murthy said on Monday that the hospital had 90 ventilators.
The case report signed by a doctor from OGH at 10.10 pm on Sunday reads: "patient not willing for admission due to non availability of beds and ventilator support".
"The records establish that there was clear hospital negligence in denying ventilator support to my brother Prakash by OGH authorities in spite of the fact that they had plenty of ventilators at their disposal as was claimed by the hospital officials," said L Balakishan, a cousin of the deceased.
In fact, non-availability of ventilator support cited by OGH doctors is also corroborated in the case report prepared by their counterparts in Gandhi hospital when Prakash was finally brought back to the hospital in a comatose state at 10.40 pm.
Writing the case report (a copy is with ToI), the duty doctors at Gandhi hospital says: "Case was brought from OGH due to non-availability of ventilator support. Patient was brought to Gandhi hospital at 10.40 pm. Pulse and heart not reachable".
These medical records point towards gross medical negligence, said Mujtaba Hasan Askari, president of NGO Helpling Hand Foundation. "Instead of saving his life, the OGH staff scared Prakash's attenders saying that ventilator and beds were not available and sent him back to Gandhi hospital, but he died en route," added Askari.
Incidentally, social activist and AAP Telangana State co-convener Prof PLVishweshwar Rao too faulted Gandhi hospital authorities for not informing trauma patients in advance that their CT scan machine was down for four day, and also not conducting Prakash's autopsy.