In a case of shocking negligence, an accident victim with a fractured leg lay in a Jharkhand hospital without treatment for two days as police searched for his relatives in Bihar so an operation could be performed, evoking sharp reprimand from Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
Shatrughan Sao, who was admitted to Koderma hospital a fortnight ago, was shifted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) here on Tuesday following Soren's intervention, and is likely to undergo an operation on Saturday, an official said.
"Sir, patient is stable, suffering from closed fracture of left femur, undergoing investigations. If all is confirmed normal, operation (internal immobilisation like nailing or plating) expected on Saturday. Civil Surgeon is monitoring the case closely," Ranchi Deputy Commissioner Rai Mahimapat Ray, wrote to Soren on Wednesday.
The top district official's response came after Soren, in a touching gesture, enquired about the condition of the 60 -year-old patient and directed the hospital to take adequate care of him.
He also asked Ray to arrange for Sao's travel to his home in Ekangar Sarai of Bihar's Nalanda district after treatment.
Instead of treating Sao, the Koderma Sadar hospital authorities allegedly asked police, apparently because it was a medico-legal case, to search for his family members. It took the Koderma police two days to find a relative, a nephew of Sao, who came and began staying with him.
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Sao's family claimed he was not given any treatment during this period.
His nephew narrated the incident to JMM workers in Koderma, who conveyed it to the CM, leading to his intervention in the matter.
Taking a strong exception to the conduct of the hospital management, the CM lamented the officials approach towards duty and issued instruction to change it.
"This attitude has been there for last few years. Instead of taking the responsibility to solve the problem - every officer wants to shift it. This is really sad, but the situation will change now. This attitude will no longer be tolerated," Soren said in a tweet.
The CM directed the management of all (government) hospitals to treat patients with sensitivity.
"The police has the responsibility to locate relatives of unknown while the doctors should focus on the treatment of the patients," Soren said in his tweet.
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