Ready for probe into Jayalalithaa's treatment: Apollo

Chennai: Maintaining that former chief minister J. Jayalalithaa was given every necessary treatment during her 75-day, Apollo Hospitals chairman Prathap C. Reddy on Tuesday said he was ready to face any probe regarding the treatment given to her.

He also asserted that there was no “outside interference” during the course of treatment that was provided to Jayalalithaa, who died on December 5 last year. Mr Reddy’s statement comes close on the heels of political parties, including the OPS faction of the AIADMK, insisting that a detailed probe should be instituted to go into the treatment given to Jayalalithaa and reasons that led to her death.

“We are ready. We have all the data and every bit of it (is with us). Team of doctors was here and all doctors at Apollo treated her and in fact we consulted international experts because we never wanted anything not done. We had the brighter aspect of it saying she would recover, but unfortunately she could not,” Mr Reddy told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

He was responding to questions on the “mystery” surrounding Jayalalithaa’s death and the demand for detailed inquiry into her 75-day stay at the Apollo Hospitals here. Jayalalithaa was admitted to the hospital on September 22 with “fever and dehydration” but later the institution clarified that she had severe infection and she succumbed to a massive cardiac arrest that she suffered on December 4.

Mr Reddy said the team of doctors took “extra attention and care” to ensure that she recovered. “We thought that she was improving and we all know that we shifted her from the Special ICU to separate room. We thought we were looking brighter but unfortunately she had a major heart attack and never responded because of the severe infection she has,” he said.

Mr Reddy, who owns Apollo Hospitals, has been maintaining that he and his institution were ready for any kind of probe into the hospitalisation of the late chief minister and treatment given to her. The Tamil Nadu government had also flew in British expert Richard Beale in February this year to clear the air over the treatment given to her.

Dr Beale, who had examined Jayalalithaa thrice in October and concurred with the line of treatment, had said the late leader got “best medical attention“ one could get in the world.