Stalin orders probe into death of patient

Stalin orders probe into death of patient

Kin Allege Oxygen Was Stopped

Bosco.Dominique@timesgroup.com

Cuddalore:22.05.2021

The government has ordered the directorate of medical and rural health services to conduct a full-fledged inquiry into the death of a patient in Cuddalore government general hospital after the deceased man's wife and relatives alleged that he died because the healthcare workers removed his oxygen support. Health minister Ma Subramanian, in a statement released on Friday, said chief minister M K Stalin has ordered the directorate to hold the inquiry and submit a report at the earliest.

A 49-year-old man was admitted to Cuddalore GH on May 5 with complaints of breathlessness. A CT scan revealed that 80-90% of his lungs were affected and an RTPCR test of his swab samples performed on May 8 returned negative for Covid-19 infection.The patient was on the support of a non-rebreather mask (NRM), a medical device that helps deliver oxygen in emergency situations since the day he was admitted to the hospital. The device can deliver 10-15 litres of oxygen per minute.

The minister said the patient's oxygen level dropped to 60% on May 18 following which he was kept under high-flow nasal oxygen (HFNO) support. However, his condition did not improve and he was extended continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy the next day. His oxygen level improved to 78-80% after the therapy.

The patient removed the oxygen support on Thursday morning to have breakfast. At that time a 40-year-old patient with just 30% oxygen level was referred to the GH for advanced treatment from a private hospital. Healthcare workers could not extend CPAP therapy to him as the machine pin did not match.

They took the CPAP machine near the first patient's bed on the first floor as he was having breakfast after removing the mask and replaced it with the machine taken from the ground floor. The machine was kept ready for his immediate use after breakfast.

The minister said the swift and timely interchanging of the machines to extend CPAP therapy to Manikandan saved his life.

"As he was having his breakfast when a medical team visited him later and the replaced CPAP machine near his bed was kept ready for his use. He suffered a heart attack while eating and died despite the medical team's effort to revive him," said the minister.

EPS wants action against hosp staff

Chennai:

Leader of opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday demanded that the Tamil Nadu government take legal action against those who had removed oxygen and ventilator support for a Covid-19 patient in Cuddalore government hospital, which the family alleged resulted in his death. In a statement, Palaniswami said it was heart-wrenching to see a video of the patient lying dead that was widely circulated in social media. TNN