Case registered for unnatural death of 35-year-old man in T’puram hospital

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Poojappura police have registered a case for unnatural death after a 35-year-old man undergoing treatment at a private hospital in the city died on Tuesday.

The case was registered on the death of Akhil Mohan, a resident of Irumba, at SK Hospital at Edapazhanji.

The family of the deceased had alleged that medical negligence from the part of the hospital staff resulted in his death.

The family members had alleged that the doctors did not provide proper treatment to Akhil, who was admitted to the casualty department in the wee hours of Tuesday.

According to Akhil’s uncle Abhilash M, Akhil suffered a heart attack on Monday. Akhil, who was a lorry driver, collapsed at Venjaramoodu and was first admitted to Nedumangad Taluk Hospital. From there, he was shifted to Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital.

“There was no bed available at the Medical College Hospital and Akhil was having breathing discomfort. So, he was taken to another private hospital where the doctors confirmed he had a heart attack. On their advice, we shifted him to SK Hospital by 1 am. The doctors at the casualty were shown all the medical reports, but they maintained his condition was okay and there was no cardiac issue,” Abhilash had said.

Abhilash had further alleged that the senior cardiology doctors initially did not visit the patient, while the juniors maintained he was alright. When Akhil’s woes worsened, he was moved to the ventilator where he died later.

The autopsy of Akhil was held at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College hospital mortuary on Wednesday. The body was handed over to the relatives by evening. The cremation was held at Akhil’s residence by 8pm.
Meanwhile, the SK Hospital in a statement categorically rejected the allegation of medical negligence and said all possible efforts as per established treatment protocols were taken to save Akhil Mohan.

The medical superintendent Dr Syam Sunder O S in a statement said the patient had a history of alcohol use and severe aortic stenosis, confirmed by old records.

During treatment, the patient had a cardiac arrest but was revived and underwent an emergency angiogram, which showed normal coronary arteries. An ECHO cardiogram revealed severe aortic valve stenosis, and a chest X-ray showed severe pneumonitis.

The statement said the hospital is open to scrutiny by technical and legal authorities and extended full cooperation to any form of inquiry into the matter.

The hospital authority further alleged that the patient’s bystanders were uncooperative and abusive, requiring police intervention.

The patient was previously treated at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College and Sree Ramakrishna Mission Hospital before coming to SK Hospital.

At SK Hospital, the patient had an increased heart rate, low blood pressure, and signs of left ventricular hypertrophy, but no heart attack, the statement read.