Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 21 May: A case has been registered against the management of Panacea Hospital in connection with yesterday’s fire incident in which a woman lost her life. The family of the deceased has lodged a complaint at Nehru Colony police station alleging gross negligence on the part of the hospital. Police have begun investigation into the matter.
Sunny Pal, a resident of GMS Road, Kanwali village, stated in his complaint that his 55-year-old mother Veerwati was admitted to Panacea Hospital on 19 May after she suffered dizziness. He said that beds were unavailable at Doon Hospital, forcing the family to admit her at Panacea. He alleged that the hospital charged nearly Rs 50,000 for ten hours of treatment, tests and medicines.
Yesterday morning, his elder brother Kamal Pal informed him that a fire had broken out in the ICU of Panacea Hospital. Shortly afterwards, they received news that their mother had sustained severe burns and was rushed to Kailash Hospital, where the doctors declared her to be dead.
The family alleged that some ambulance staff and hospital employees were actively involved in sending patients to Panacea Hospital and demanded a probe into the entire network and the role of those concerned. They further claimed that the hospital lacked adequate fire-fighting arrangements and trained staff, which led to the death of their mother.
Station in-charge of Nehru Colony, Manoj Nautiyal, confirmed that a case has been registered against the hospital administration based on the complaint and police are investigating.
It may be recalled that yesterday around 9:30 a.m., a fire had broken out at Panacea Hospital near Rispana bridge in Dehradun. The blaze reportedly started from the ICU due to a fault in the air-conditioner. The woman admitted there succumbed to burn injuries in the incident. Some others were also injured and the patients there had to be shifted to other hospitals.
