My father Lt. Dr. Kaustubh Chatterjee was a reputed physician practising for over 45 years at Sodpur in north suburban Kolkata region. His patients mostly belonged to middle class and poor people. As he was suffering from fever we had admitted him to Apollo Hospitals, Kolkata on 15th Oct. He was diagonsed with Pyogenic Meningitis. Treatment started with all the latest anti-biotics which were all exhorbitantly costly. Pharmacy bill per day was touching almost Rs.35, 000/-. Soon he responded fairly well to treatment and was getting much better . after 4/5 days his condition started to again get worse. Doctors said he had contacted diarohhea from intake of hospital milk etc. Then he contacted some hospital acquired Acenatobactor infection. Never have heard name of such infection. Doctors said it was some type of deadly infection. Haven't been able to make out till this day how a patient staying inside ICU of one of the most reputed hospitals in town can acquire such deadly infection. During my father's stay at the hospital I have observed certain things
a) adequate precaution is not taken while allowing visitors inside ICU - visitors walk in with outside shoes and everything
b) the nursing staff even inside ICU are mostly very young Malayali girls- mostly inexperienced trainee nurses who hardly can understand or talk in English or Hindi. Neither do they understand what is being spoken to them nor can we follow what they try to say. I am not too sure how ICU patients would communicate their inconvenience etc with them.
c) the no. of nurses attending critically ill patients in ICU is highly inadequate.
At night hours only 5/6 such young inexperienced nurses are in charge of 13/14 highly critical patients.
d) Between 11 pm at night and 6 am in morning there are absolutely no doctors or RMO present in the ICU . They are away in their rooms and if any eventuality happens which may need attention within minutes - only God would be there to help the patients.
e) Doctors do not discuss the condition of patient adequately with the patient party. specially the doctor Narayan Banerjee who is the senior Medical expert feels very bothered when even my mother (who herself is a doctor) asked details about my father's condition. The doctors prescribe any medicine they feel like. As many no. of the costliest anti-biotic available they prescribe at the same time - least bothered about either drug interaction or expense of the patient party. Unholy collusion with medicine companies seem to be very apparent from such wreckless prescription of such doctors.
Coming back to my father's case, he again survived the Acenatobactor infection and severe diarohhea and was getting substantially better when Dr. Narayan Banerjee, who he was in charge, decided to take him out of the Apollo Hospital and shift my father to his personal nursing home. All of us had objected and my mother held back the transfer for a day also but he kept on insisting that it would be for good of the patient. Within 36 hours of transfer to the private nursing home of the doctor, the patient's condition worsened to a degree that his B.P was 60/40 and he was suffering renal failure and multi organ failure symptoms. He was at the brink of death and the doctor Dr. Narayan Banerjee was trying to flee the place and shirk responsibility. But we didn't allow that to happen. My father was again shifted back to Apollo Hospital on 29.10.2010 afternoon and by late evening his condition has stabilised substantially. Dr Narayan Banerjee was nowhere to be seen. We tried to contact on his mobile several times but he didn't take the calls. Only in late evening he showed up and said he didn't believe his eyes that the patient was still alive. I haven't been able to make out to this day whether he was planning some sort of ill-gotten murder for my father, having taken him to his own bogus nursing home where the nursing staff was no better than maid servants. Over days my father's condition again improved substantially. On 06.11.2010 evening the doctors and nurses said his condition was absolutely stable - all parameters normal. At night around 10.30, I again called up the ICU - the doctor said the same. At 7.15am on 07.11.2010 the doctor Narayan Banerjee calls my sister on mobile and says my father has expired in morning and that he is on his way to the hospital. Almost 5 contact nos. had been provided to the hospital authorities. There was no intimation on any number from the hospital staff that my father's condition has got critical or he has expired. When we rushed to the hospital immediately, that Dr. Narayan Banerjee was nowhere to be seen. He had just 20/25 minutes previously said that he was on his way to the hospital. The RMO said that my father had suffered cardiac arrest at 6.15 am and inspite of all their efforts he could not be saved I ask a question: MY FATHER WAS INSIDE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT of APOLLO HOSPITAL WHERE OTHER EXPENSES APART, MERE BED CHARES ARE Rs.7, 150/- PER DAY - WHY HIS CARDIAC ARREST COULD NOT BE TREATED . WAS IT BECAUSE MOST PROBABLY THE DOCTORS WERE SLEEPING AT THAT TIME AND MY FATHER WAS ATTENTED TO AFTER A WHILE WHEN ALREADY IRREVERSIBLE LOSS HAS BEEN DONE TO HIS SYSTEM? As far as I know procedures need to be started within 2/3 mins of Cardiac arrest. Most probably calling the doctor and time taken for procedures to be started had taken 10 mins and by that time my father must have collapsed. NO INTIMATION TO THE PATIENT PARTY WAS GIVEN BY THE HOSPITAL STAFF OR ADMINISTRATION ABOUT THE CONDITION DETERIORATION OR DEATH OF THE PATIENT WHO HIMSELF WAS A REPUTED PHYSICIAN . IN THE 2nd PHASE WHEN HE WAS ADMITTED TO APOLLO, PHARMACY BILLING TOUCHED AN ASTOUNDING RS.65, 000/- per DAY with DAILY BILLING CROSSING Rs.75, 000/- per day. EVEN AFTER SPENDING ALMOST Rs.10 LAKH, APOLLO HOSPITAL CHURNED OUT A DEAD BODY OF A REPUTED PHYSICIAN . THIS IS NOT A ONE OFF CASE . THIS IS THE USUAL SCENARIO IN THIS SO-CALLED REPUTED HOSPITALS. PEOPLE SHRIEK AT THE STATE OF HEALTH CARE IN HOSPITALS AND NURSING HOMES IN WEST BENGAL . IT WAS SAID ABOUT POLICE - " DACOITS IN UNIFORM " - what exactly can be said about these cheats who are playing with lives of hapless millions.
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