Family blames private hospitals for death

Samrat Pandya (31) was the second victim of H1N1 influenza in the Capital.

The family blames his death on the negligence on part of the private hospitals,where they had gone before finally reaching the RML Hospital.

On August 12,Pandya was taken to the Paras Hospital. The doctors maintain that the patient was breathless,had fever and chest infection.

After a chest X-ray confirmed pneumonia,they referred him to the Civil Hospital in Gurgaon.

But the family took him to the Max Hospital which sent him to RML Hospital,after conducting tests that confirmed that he had been affected by H1N1. By then,there had been a delay of four days.

“The private hospitals have a part to play in my son’s death,” said R S Pandya,Samrat’s father. “Both private hospitals could have directed us to RML on Day One,but they waited so they could earn their money. The delay has cost me my son.”

By the time Samrat reached the RML Hospital on August 15,he had suffered a cardiac arrest,said Dr N K Chaturvedi,Medical Superintendent,RML Hospital.

“We put him on ventilator support immediately and he did show some signs of improvement. But though his BP stabilised,both his lungs were infected and he could not recover,” said Chaturvedi.

Samrat ran a small business from Lajpat Nagar and interacted with foreigners who visited his shop. The family believes that he contracted the virus from his foreign customers.

Contact tracing teams of the Gurgaon district administration have already administered preventive treatment to the family.