peaking to reporters, some relatives of those dead alleged that those on life support like ventilator and oxygen could not be continuously given such backup as the generator room was flooded.
Eighteen patients died in a hospital here allegedly due to flooding of generator room and resultant snap of ventilator and oxygen support as Tamil Nadu government indicted the hospital management for "abandoning" its job and said the incident will be probed.
Over the past several days when rains ravaged the city, a well-known private hospital on the banks of the Adyar river in Manapakkanam here was hit by flood in parts of its premises and according to the government 18 died in the past two to three days. As there was no electricity, the hospital was run on generator.
Speaking to reporters, some relatives of those dead alleged that those on life support like ventilator and oxygen could not be continuously given such backup as the generator room was flooded. "Out of 75 ICU patients in that hospital, 57 ventilator patients were moved out. The remaining patients died over the past two three days. Let us not jump the gun to say that the patients died due to power failure," Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan told reporters.
Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary K Gnanadesikan told a press conference here that hospital management "abandoned" their job of guarding the interests of their patients and the state walked the extra-mile in protecting the interests of all patients in all public and private hospitals. "The (hospital) management abandoned their job," he said adding the private hospital authorities should have set up their generator room in the first floor as the premises was in a low-lying area pretty close to river Adyar. To another question on action against the hospital, he said "the law would take its course."
Radhakrishnan explained how the government extended all support to private hospitals including ensuring oxygen supply and shifting of patients from inundated hospitals. He said he had visited the hospital where 18 died and found that the generators had ceased functioning due to inundation and that the hospital had no standby generators.
Seven 108 ambulances were deployed to transport patients to private and a government hospital. Also, out of the 18 dead, the bodies of four were taken away by the kin of the dead and the remaining 14 were taken to the Government Royapettah Hospital as there was power in the mortuary of MIOT Hospital.
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