A 38-year-old dengue patient died allegedly due to medical negligence, taking the death toll in Delhi to 21, as hospitals across the capital remained flooded with people down with the mosquito-borne fever, prompting the city government to order conversion of 55 dispensaries into 'Fever and Dengue Clinics' from Monday.
As the city remained in the grip of dengue, the Union Health Ministry issued a fresh advisory to Delhi government to "intensify" measures to check breeding of mosquitoes after experts warned that the dengue situation may worsen in the wake of fresh showers. So far over 2,000 people have been affected by dengue in Delhi.
Harish Chauhan, a resident of south Delhi's Deoli village, succumbed to dengue at Batra Hospital. A 34-year-old woman from Kalyanpuri is also suspected to have died of dengue at Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital.
Chauhan's family alleged that two government hospitals did not extend proper treatment to him for dengue while for five days, Batra Hospital, where he died yesterday, treated him for liver infection.
Deceased's brother Mukesh Chauhan alleged that they took Harish to Madan Mohan Malviya Hospital on September 11 after he complained of fever and started vomiting but the doctors there asked him to go home after prescribing some medicines.
In the night, his condition deteriorated and he was rushed to Safdarjung Hospital where he was admitted in medicine ward.
Mukesh alleged that though Harish's condition deteriorated, no senior doctor came to see him despite repeated requests.
"They threw the files at me and asked me to take him anywhere at my risk," Mukesh alleged adding he was then taken to Batra Hospital where he was treated for liver infection
"They treated him for liver infection for the first five days. On September 17. They told us he had dengue. His condition further deteriorated and he passed away yesterday," said Mukesh adding Batra charged a hefty amount to hand over the body.
Batra hospital said the patient was brought to the hospital with chronic liver disease.
