POKHARA, Nov 3: Manipal Teaching Hospital remained tense on Tuesday following the death of a patient who was admitted there with a chest complaint.
The situation arose after relatives of Tilak Khanal, who died while undergoing treatment, declined to accept his body and demanded that the hospital furnish the cause of death. But the hospital administration tried to hand the body over to police, saying that the death was accidental.
As the hospital administration could not satisfy the relatives about the cause of death, the latter, who had gathered at the hospital, clashed with the police. Police had to baton-charge the angry relatives.
Khanal, 42, had visited the hospital alone on his motorcycle for a check-up after suffering chest trouble Tuesday morning. As the doctor in the Outdoor Patient Department found nothing wrong, Khanal was administered medication for gastrocite.
Khanal´s relatives accused the doctor of negligence while treating Khanal. “The hospital has failed to clarify how a man in normal health has died,” Laxmi Prasad Tiwari, Khanal´s neighbor, said. “It seems a failing on the part of the hospital.”
But Director of the hospital Dr Ashis De refuted the charge of negligence in Khanal´s treatment. He said Khanal was admitted to the emergency ward as he did not feel comfortable even after he was given medicine.
“An ECG taken at the emergency ward also found no ailment in Khanal´s chest. He was then administered a gastrocite injection,” Dr De said.
The hospital said Khanal had gone to the toilet after the injection and he fell to the floor. “When the doctor reached down to the floor, Khanal was already dead.”
According to De, the hospital wrote to the police immediately after the death, asking for an investigation. But the relatives of the dead man disagreed with the letter which said Khanal died all of a sudden. Talks between the hospital and the relatives of the deceased held till late evening have failed.
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