Chennai: Monday’s rains disrupted power several times in the city, claiming a death at the N1 ward of the Institute of Neurology at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) here on Monday. Hospital sources, however, say that the death was due to the patient’s deteriorated health.
The deceased, Ponmurugan (42), of Triplicane, had collided into the parapet wall of the Cholavaram bridge on April 30 on his two-wheeler. He came to the RGGGH on May 2 from a private hospital in Ambattur.
Resident Medical Officer Anand Pratap said, “Ponmurugan was serious when he was brought to the RGGGH. There was a major blood clot on either side of the brain and multiple fractures in the skull.”
Ponmurugan’s father, Ramasamy Iraiezhilan, said, “He was conscious until Monday morning. There was a power cut at about 5 am, and the ventilator would not have functioned.” He noted that the generators in the hospital also did not work.
The hospital authorities said that there were 10 ventilators in use in the ward and the other nine patients were fine. The ventilator had a battery back-up that would enable the machine to work for two hours, they noted.
Police at the outpost of the hospital said due to the delay in conducting autopsy which was because of the delay in the communication from the police station concerned, the relatives attempted to create a problem.
They even tried to hold protest, but the police pacified them.
