Suicide, mishap hit hospitals

KOLKATA: A suicide and an accident plunged the beleaguered government hospitals into greater crisis on Tuesday.
While an elderly lady jumped off the third floor bathroom at NRS Medical College and Hospital, a freedom fighter was badly hurt after she fell from the bed at SSKM.
Seventy five-year-old Bichitra Gayen had been admitted to the female medicine ward, a couple of days back, with septicaemia in the lungs.She was said be in a very critical state. Around 2 am on Tuesday, Gayen went to the bathroom and quietly removed the broken grills, which were so badly damaged that it was possible for an elderly lady of frail health to take them apart. After removing the grills, she jumped from the window.
“The hospital staff immediately rushed her to emergency. But we failed to revive her and she died after an hour,� said D K Jha, hospital deputy superintendent. In the morning, PWD men repaired the grills.
Gayen was being kept on a trolley as no bed was available. “She was suffering from mental problems, which is why, despite being admitted on a trolley, she was allowed to have a personal attendant,� Jha said.
Authorities admitted that with hospital buildings in poor shape and inadequately staffed, there was no way to avoid such problems.
At SSKM, another elderly patient and a former freedom fighter Aparna Dutta fell from her bed. Relatives lodged a complaint with hospital deputy superintendent TK Ghosh,who ordered an inquiry into the matter.
A similar incident took place at the Calcutta Medical College a few days ago where Shrawan Jaiswal jumped off the balcony and died. Medical college authorities ordered an inquiry into the incident.