Panel to probe H1N1 patient's death at RGICD

A committee headed by the director of the department of medical education would be set up to look into the medical negligence case at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) in the City.

B G Ganesh (57), a swine flu patient died at RGICD on Sunday, after ventilators stopped functioning following power failure, his family had claimed. Following the incident, Minister for Health and Family Welfare U T Khader and Minister for Medical Education Sharanprakash Patil visited the hospital on Monday.

A meeting was called with the director of the institute and Dr Patil sought a detailed report into the incident by the hospital. On Sunday, family members of Ganesh, a resident of Bapujinagar, said that ventilators in the hospital stopped functioning early in the morning on Sunday, following a power cut and that it eventually led to the death of the patient, who had respiratory problems.

“A probe has been ordered into the incident. We have heard from the victim’s family side about the incident. If, through the course of the investigation, it is arrived at a conclusion that the fault is on the doctors’ end, action will be taken,” said Patil.

Dr Shashidhar Buggi, medical director, RGICD, said that it was due to the flu that Ganesh died and not due to the non-functional ventilators.

Khader said that no compensation could be provided to the victim’s family. “If they seek legal help, we will go by the court directions,” he added.