Kin allege man dies of rat bite in ICU, probe launched

Dr Vinayak Kale, Dean of BJ Government Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital, told The Indian Express that the patient was critical after a spinal cord injury and was on ventilator support

According to hospital officials, the patient was paralysed neck down and while he underwent surgery for the spinal cord injury, he turned critical and was kept on ventilator support from March 29. He passed away late on April 1. File photo

Sassoon General Hospital authorities have launched an inquiry following a complaint received from the family of a 30-year-old man Sagar Renuse that his death in the intensive care unit (ICU) was due to rat bites. When contacted, Dr Vinayak Kale, Dean of BJ Government Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital, told The Indian Express that the patient was critical after a spinal cord injury and was on ventilator support.

“The postmortem examination report showed he had succumbed to complications related to spinal cord injury. Pest control is regularly conducted at Sassoon General hospital and a rat bite cannot cause sudden death. However, based on the written complaint from family members, an inquiry has been launched in this case,” Dr Kale said.

As per Dr Kale, the patient hailed from Velha tehsil and was an alcoholic. “Renuse suffered a fall from a bridge. He was taken to a local hospital first and later admitted to Sassoon on March 17. The patient was paralysed neck down and while he underwent surgery for the spinal cord injury, he turned critical and was kept on ventilator support from March 29. He passed away late on April 1,” Dr Kale told The Indian Express.

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Renuse was admitted to the trauma intensive care unit which is located at the ground floor of the old hospital building. Hospital authorities said the ICU has 24-25 beds, and if a written complaint about rat bites is submitted, an inquiry will be conducted, they said.

Meanwhile, Ketan Marne, a social worker who accompanied the relatives claimed that the rat bites were visible at two to three places and most likely occurred late on Monday night. The deceased’s brother had met Marne in the evening and inquired about him, Marne said.

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