Even as alarming numbers of those who succumbed in hospitals across the state during resident doctors' strike emerge, municipal corporation and medicos call the figures usual, say deaths not because of lack of emergency services
As the dust begins to settle on the strike of resident doctors, the blame game over the deaths due to unavailability of medical aid has started.
After the Bombay High Court was told that 135 patients died in three civic hospitals over the last four days due to lack of emergency services, BMC officials said the deaths were not related to any dearth in facilities.
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As per the document submitted in court, 53 deaths have been recorded in KEM, 34 in Nair and 48 in Sion hospitals during the strike, while all across Maharashtra, 377 deaths have been recorded.
'Number of deaths usual'
Dr Avinash Supe, director of major hospitals, said the deaths were not related to the strike as serious patients are provided adequate treatment.
"These (the number of deaths) are usual figures in these hospitals. Regularly, 40-50 patients die even when there is no strike. These are not due to unavailability of emergency services," said Dr Supe.
Echoing him, Dr Sagar Mundada, chairman of Indian Medical Association's youth wing, said that as these major hospitals receive serious patients, the number of deaths is more and it has no connection with the strike. "These hospitals register the same number of deaths daily. All emergency services were functional, so it can't be due to absence of doctors in hospitals," he added.
No doc in sight
But even as authorities and medicos are claiming that all facilities were provided, the family of Sheetal Bhavishkar (26) has a different story to share. Yesterday, as the strike continued, with hospitals deserted of doctors, Shobha was crying her heart out at KEM Hospital after her daughter Sheetal's death, allegedly due to unavailability of doctors.
"There was no doctor to treat my daughter; she lay unattended for two days and succumbed to her injuries on Friday night. Every time we asked for a doctor, we were told there aren't any available. She had been admitted in the ICU with injuries to the head and fractured legs. She could have survived had she got treatment in time," she said.
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