Hospital reports clearly state Jayalalithaa died on Dec 5: TN govt

The Tamil Nadu government today said Apollo Hospitals and AIIMS reports on the treatment given to late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has clearly suggested that she passed away on December 5 after a massive cardiac arrest.

It said Jayalalithaa suffered a massive cardiac arrest on December 4 while an intensivist was present at the ICU in Apollo Hospitals in Chennai. "The late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa passed away at 11.30 PM on December 5, 2016," the report said.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan told reporters in New Delhi after receiving the report by AIIMS doctors that there "is no basis to the speculation which has been circulated in the media" on Jayalalithaa's treatment.

To quash these kinds of speculations, the medical report by AIIMS doctors has been received "from the Government of India at our request", he said. "It is a very self-explanatory report and we have not held back anything," Radhakrishnan added.

Meanwhile, the press statement quoting the report said Jayalalithaa was administered resuscitation and provided ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrance Oxygenation) support within an hour.

"Every possible clinical attempt was made to sustain her revival as per prescribed medical protocols," the statement said, quoting Radhakrishnan.

He said a team of doctors, including experts from Apollo and AIIMS, assessed the situation. It was clinically concluded that there was no heart function and also no neurological improvement, denoting futility of life support.

Hence, after following all procedures, the position was conveyed to senior ministers and political leaders -- O Panneerselvam (former Chief Minister), Health Minister Vijayabhaskar, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M Thambidurai, and AIADMK General Secretary V K Sasikala.

It was also conveyed to the chief secretary, the health secretary and other top government officials, the statement quoted him as saying. All of them understood the situation and asked the medical team to act as per the standard protocol.

Radhakrishnan said medical practitioners are bound to not reveal details related to patients. However, "given the need to put at rest needless speculation relating to the circumstances surrounding the hospitalisation, treatment and sad demise of the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, the government decided to make public the discharge summary received from Apollo Hospitals and the medical report received from AIIMS, New Delhi."

On the condition in which Jayalalithaa was admitted to the hospital, it said that at around 10 PM on September 22, 2016, Apollo Hospitals received a call from the residence of the then chief minister.

When the ambulance reached there, they found her breathless with low oxygen saturation, resulting in drowsiness. "She was immediately admitted to Apollo Hospital, Greams Road, Chennai. On evaluation, she was diagnosed to be suffering from infection and dehydration, accompanied by respiratory distress," Radhakrishnan said in the statement.

There were pre-existing co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension, asthmatic bronchitis and hypothyroidism, but clearly the "treatment report of Apollo Hospital, as well as that of AIIMS do not mention any evidence of trauma or any other event as alleged by certain political leaders," he said.