Former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee came back home at 59, Palm Avenue in the Ballygunge area on Wednesday after 12 day-long round-the-clock treatment at a premier private hospital at Alipore. A critical care ambulance of the hospital took him to his residence around 12 noon.
Two doctors Kaushik Chakraborty and Saptarshi Bose, two nurses and his wife Meera Bhattacharjee were also with the 79-year-old former chief minister when he was taken to his residence. Doctors have advised his family members to keep ailing Mr Bhattacharjee under round-the-clock strong observations at his residence though he has no major ailments so far.
But he is vulnerable to getting infection any time because he is a patient of severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He was given support of a Bi-Pap, a device that supplies oxygen to weak lungs, after he reached home though the life-saving procedure was not there with him when he left the hospital by the ambulance.
Two emergency treatment facilities – Bi-Pap and cardiac monitor – have been arranged for him at his residence. A homecare team comprising doctors and nurses will attend to him every day at his home to monitor his health condition for about one month. Members of the 11-member medical board who treated the critically ill septuagenarian CPM leader in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital since 29 July when he was rushed there with pneumonia and abnormal fall and rise in oxygen saturation and carbon dioxide levels respectively virtually heaved a sigh of relief after Mr Bhattacharjee was discharged and sent back home in good health.
“Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had undergone treatment in our hospital earlier but it was literally difficult for doctors to get him cured as his condition was critical with severe pneumonia and bacterial infections badly affecting his lungs. He was undergoing critical care treatment in the ICU with a life-support system of invasive ventilator. He was brought out of the ventilator and given Bi-Pap support after his condition improved gradually. Finally, he has responded positively to our treatment,” said Dr Chakraborty.
Mrs Bhattacharjee thanked the team of doctors, nurses, non-medical staff at the hospital and people with whose tireless treatment and good wishes her husband came out of danger and returned home.