Promises to keep
Promises matter in elections because voters lack rationality. As election history shows, freebies do get votes. Hitherto, it was a time tested method of electoral success for a desperate opposition.
Former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is responding to treatment steadily though several parameters in connection with his health condition still remained a matter of concern to the 11-member team of doctors attending to him since Saturday, when he was admitted at Woodlands Hospital. He has regained consciousness and been kept out of the ventilation support for observation since Monday.
He is now under the support system of Bi-Pap, according to a member of the team of doctors. “He is not willing to take the support of Bi-Pap, a device that helps push air into lungs. We are trying to keep him out of the Bi-Pap intermittently but his oxygen saturation level is coming down without the support system.
One unit of whole blood was transfused today because his haemoglobin count is very low. Otherwise, he is responding to treatment. It will take a few more days to see him out of danger,” a senior member of the team said. The chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited the hospital on Monday afternoon. She had spoken to the doctors and asked the latter not to discharge him from the hospital till he completely recovered.
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The former chief minister has been undergoing treatment with support of an invasive ventilator in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital as he had pneumonia with multi-drug resistant infections, badly affecting both of his both lungs.
He was admitted to the hospital around 4.30 pm on Saturday with severe respiratory distress, abnormal fall and rise in oxygen saturation (SpO2) and carbon dioxide levels respectively. “His health condition remained critical but stable as oxygen saturation in his blood improved. His blood pressure has also improved.
He is responding to the treatment but still is not out of danger. Our doctors closely monitored him the entire night and there was no major deterioration,” according to a senior adm inistrative officer of the hospital.
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