The death of a cancer patient allegedly due to negligence in treatment at Medical College Hospital (MCH) sparked off fresh controversy today. At a time when the state healthcare services are facing the wrath of opposition parties following repeated incidents of deaths of patients including an 18-year-old class XII student Subhrojit Chatterjee who was denied admission at the same state-run premier teaching hospital since Saturday.

Today, family members of a 65-year-old cancer patient Ajoy Manna of Salap in Howrah brought serious allegations against the MCH again.

Manna who was a Covid19 suspect was brought to the MCH from another government M R Bangur Hospital on 9 July. He died at the MCH same day after his admission in the corona ward but the ‘helpline number’ of the hospital was found keeping his relatives informed saying ‘patient is okay and eating meals’ for the past five days, family members alleged.

According to the COVID19 treatment guidelines, no one except doctors and other medical staff is allowed to visit the coronavirus-affected patients in any hospital.

Manna’s family members were not also allowed to see him since he was admitted to the MCH. “We used to call on the hospital’s helpline seeking to know about his health condition as we were not allowed to enter the Covid ward. Every day the ‘helpline’ used to say to us ‘the patient is okay, sleeping well ’,” they alleged.

“Today, someone of us managed to reach the ward on the fifth floor of the Green Building and found his father on the bed. Some staff in the ward informed him that he died on the day of admission,” a member of the deceased’s family alleged.

The patient was brought to the SSKM hospital for surgery but he was denied admission after he complained of fever, cough and cold. Suspecting him as a coronavirus patient SSKM doctors referred him to M R Bangur Hospital, a Covid treatment centre. M R Bangur doctors advised him to get admitted at the MCH because of nonavailability beds at the former.

On Saturday, Subhrojit of Ichhapur in North 24 Parganas died at the MCH after being denied admission at three other hospitals on Friday.

Hardly a couple of days after the death of three other patients died at the same hospital on Monday exposing the poor healthcare services at the backdrop against the COVID-19 pandemic that is ravaging Bengal with an alarming surge in the number of deaths and affected patients.

Today, CPI-M’s student wing SFI organised a demonstration in front of the Swasthya Bhaban, state health department headquarters, in protest against negligence that led to the death of Subhrojit. But police prevented the agitating SFI activists from marching towards Swasthya Bhaban. Police got involved in a heated exchange of words with the students blaming the latter for violating social distancing guidelines.

“The state healthcare system has been collapsed under Mamata Banerjee who also heads the health department. We are peacefully marching towards the Swastha Bhaban to submit a memorandum demanding her resignation. But police prevented us and the deaths of Subhrojit and three others without getting medical treatment have exposed poor healthcare services in our state,” said Mr Srijon Bhattacharya, SFI state secretary.

Mr Mayukh Biswas, SFI all India general secretary, was also there at the protest rally.