Whodunnit? VIMS Hospital ICU deaths story changes as director alleges sabotage

Director suspects sabotage

Interestingly Gowda had issued a statement on Wednesday, the day of the incident, stating that the deaths of the two people in the ICU were a “coincidence” and power cuts had played no role in the deaths.

Based on his statement, the district in-charge minister B Sriramulu also stated that the two patients were already in critical condition and died due to their illness and not due to the power outage.

ICU ward of VIMS Hospital in Bellary. (Supplied)

However, three days later, Gowda alleged that there was a huge conspiracy against him and that the power cuts were intentional and this had led to the death of the two patients.

Meanwhile, the state government formed a five-member panel led by Bangalore Medical College Principal Dr Smitha.

When the team visited Bellary on Friday, Gowda reportedly disclosed his suspicion.

Highly placed sources from the hospital told South First that the director said someone had sabotaged the underground electric cables, leading to the bursting of these lines, and hence the power cut.

“The director has asked the committee to add this aspect in the report it is submitting to the government,” sources said.

Whodunnit?

Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar and District Incharge minister B Sriramulu at Ballari’s VIMS Hospital checking the generators at the hospital. (Supplied)

Gowda has alleged that the power was intentionally disconnected.

“It was done as I was appointed director in August 2019. Some people could not tolerate my appointment and hence wanted to tarnish my image. They intentionally disconnected the power supply to remove me from my post. I will file a complaint once I know who it is,” he said.

While some alleged that Gowda’s statements created unease among patients even as some of the medical staff went on leave, a few senior doctors are being questioned about their involvement in the alleged sabotage.

The allegations have put all those senior doctors who had vied for the director’s post in a fix.

The six directors who applied for the director’s post were Dr Manjunath, Dr Mariraju, Dr Venkateshwarulu, Dr Srinivas, Dr Ashwini Kumar, and Gowda.

Of these, Kumar was eliminated as per the rules for appointing the director, and hence only five remained in the contest.

One of the senior doctors told South First on condition of anonymity: “Such baseless allegations can damage the reputation of senior doctors like us. We all know how he came to the position, but that doesn’t mean anyone will stoop to the extent of taking innocent lives.”

He added: “If the government is serious about this, the investigation has to happen in a fair manner.”

Meanwhile, sources said the other directors are unhappy with the appointment of Gowda as at least three others were a better fit for the post due to their seniority.

“He has political support, and hence he was appointed. Dr Srinivas was the senior-most, while Dr Manjunath, Dr Venkateshwarulu, and Dr Mariraju were next in seniority. It is obvious that political influence was used,” a senior doctor from VIMS told South First.

Probe panel to visit again

While the health minister, after his visit to the hospital, said that the reason for the deaths might not be the power cut, the probe panel is expected to visit the hospital again this week.

The team will this time also have engineers from the electricity department for further probe. A report is expected to be submitted to the government by this weekend.

However, doctors from the hospital told South First that the state health minister informed the director and the other hospital authorities to not issue statements till the probe was over and the report was submitted.

South First tried to reach Gowda for further clarification, but the phone calls went unanswered.

The deaths

There was a power shutdown between 8.30 am and 11 am at the hospital on Wednesday, 15 September.

Several patients were seen struggling with no electricity in the hospital for almost two and a half hours.

Two patients — 35-year-old Maula Hussain and 30-year-old Chettamma — who were battling for their lives on the ventilator in the ICU died at the same time during the power cut.

The matter was raised in the state Assembly on Thursday morning by the Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah.

He said that the deaths were due to the government’s negligence. It was after this that the aforementioned panel consisting of five doctors was formed to probe the deaths.