Five ICU Patients Die in Kanpur Hospital After AC Failure

KANPUR:
In yet another medical negligence case in Uttar Pradesh, five patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Kanpur’s Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital, popularly called Hallet Hospital, died on Thursday following air-conditioning malfunction (AC).
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath sought a detailed report from Kanpur District Magistrate Sutrendra Singh within 24 hours.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the health services were in a shambles under the present regime: “People are dying due to medical negligence. The state government has not learnt anything from the BRD Medical College tragedy.”
Relatives of the patients and nursing staff alleged the AC plant in the ICU ward tripped on Thursday morning due to overheating, and no one came to fix it till evening. Without ventilation, the condition of some 11 patients deteriorated and five of them died by night.
ICU in-charge Dr Saurabh Agarwal denied the charge: “Three of the patients died due to cardiac arrest and two had developed serious neurological problems. They died before we could shift them to the neuro ward.” After patients’ kin created a ruckus, the hospital ordered an inquiry and installed six new ACs.
Earlier, over 33 children had died at BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur due to non-supply of oxygen.A relative of one of the patients said, “Doctors said my father could be discharged by Thursday afternoon. But he developed a breathing problem after the AC plant failure and died of sudden cardiac arrest.”
After kin of other patients in ICU created a ruckus, the administration ordered a probe and installed 6 new ACs.