India, July 20 -- A 42-year-old patient died around three hours after a ceiling fan allegedly fell on him inside the emergency ward of Delhi's Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital, prompting his family to demand an inquiry into the incident. Hospital sources said the Public Works Department (PWD) repaired the fan after the incident. They also said a male nurse sustained injuries and was provided medical assistance. However, they added that further details would be available only after an official report is prepared. Eyewitnesses, however, alleged that the nurse had been injured in a separate incident a few months ago and not during the current episode. The incident took place around 9.30 pm on Saturday in Emergency Ward-27, where Mohammad Akbar had been undergoing treatment for the past four to five days, sources said. According to eyewitnesses, the ceiling fan suddenly came loose and fell directly onto the patient's bed, striking Akbar in the abdomen. He was immediately attended to by hospital staff.
Akbar, who was admitted to the hospital on July 18, was suffering from multiple serious ailments, including hypertension, meningoencephalitis and aspiration pneumonia, sources said. He died at around 12.16 am on Sunday, nearly three hours after the incident. The death certificate attributed the cause of death to his underlying medical conditions, according to sources. On Sunday morning, Akbar's family reached the hospital and demanded a thorough inquiry, alleging that the incident reflected serious lapses in maintenance and patient safety. Eyewitnesses and other patients' attendants in the ward alleged that the fan suddenly detached and fell on Akbar's bed leading to his death.
Several attendants in the ward claimed that many air-conditioners in the ward were either not functioning or had missing parts, leaving ceiling fans as the primary source of ventilation amid the humid weather. Family members of patients expressed anger over the incident and questioned the condition of facilities at the government-run hospital. "Is this the kind of treatment patients are getting?" an attendant said. Another attendant alleged that his brother had earlier been administered an incorrect needle, which was later replaced by hospital staff. "First, they put the wrong needle in his hand and then came back and changed it," he claimed.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.