The Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Maharashtra has reported 18 deaths, including two of infants, in just 24 hours, on 3rd October 2023. The hospital administration has stated that on an average, the norm for deaths per admitted patient is nine out of 1,000 at a higher health facility and anything beyond that is considered to be serious.
Dean Dr Sanjay Rathod said, “Our hospital, which is the largest state-run facility in the region, daily caters to about 2,000 patients from 14 districts. Irrespective of the condition of the patient, he or she is admitted. Most of the patients that reach here are referred to the third stage. For us every death is unfortunate. If we go by the stats, the death of 10 patients out of 2000 patients is a very small percentage.”
He said that in many cases, the patients are brought dead and when this patient is declared dead, this number is accounted for in our account.?? “We appeal to people not to fall prey to any rumors about the high number of deaths resulting from GMCH. This institute has been catering for the past six decades. It is true that at times we face shortage of medicines, but we ensure that it does not take a toll on a patient’s life,” he said.
Echoing him, hospital’s superintendent Dr Vijay Kalyankar said, “Out of about 400 patients reported dead last month at GMCH, over 100 were brought dead patients, while out of the remaining patients, most of them were in terminal stage and suffering from serious ailments.”
