A patient on ventilator support died in the trauma care centre of a government-run hospital at a hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior on Tuesday. Following the incident, the deceased patient's family members accused the hospital management of a fire breaking out in an air-conditioning unit this morning. However, the management denied the charge.
What did the family say?
The deceased patient's son, Abid Khan, claimed that his father was on a ventilator and was positioned just under the air conditioning when the fire broke out and smoke engulfed the room eventually.
According to Mr Khan, his father died while being shifted from the trauma centre.
What did the hospital say?
According to the Gajra Raja Medical College (GRMC) dean Dr R K S Dhakad, an air conditioning unit of the trauma centre caught fire in the morning, following which all the staff including the medical superintendent reached the spot.
It has been reported that there were ten patients on ventilator support in the trauma centre at that time and they were shifted to another room before the fire was brought under control, he said.
Commenting on the matter, Dr Dhakad said that it was wrong to say that the patient died due to the blaze in the AC unit. The condition of the deceased was already serious. Moreover, nine other patients who were also admitted to the centre with him were still safe.
The patient was brought to the hospital from Shivpuri and underwent a brain surgery. He was an M-1 category patient, which is equivalent to being a brain dead person. The fire broke out at around 7 am while the patient died at 11.15 am, he said.
"Therefore, it would be wrong to say that the patient died due to the fire or shifting during that time," he said.
The fire was doused immediately using the fire extinguishers kept there, which were used by the doctor and paramedical staff present there, he said.
