A senior citizen, Sadananda Pal (63), a resident of Nalikul Cinematala, Haripal, on 18 August was hit on the back by a motorbike at high speed. He had received serious head injuries. He was rushed from one hospital to another hospital but was denied admission for lack of doctors. The victim succumbed to his injuries in a private hospital in Barasat.

The son of the deceased Soumen Pal said it was a very bitter experience for me since my father died for want of timely medical assistance. My father was first rushed to Haripal Gramin Hospital, from where he was referred to Chinsurah state hospital. The doctors, after conducting a CT scan, said that cerebral hemorrhage had taken place, leading to internal bleeding. He was referred to Kalyani AIIMS. But, the hospital refused admission on the grounds that they didn’t have the required infrastructure and doctors to conduct a brain operation. I rushed my father to a state-run hospital at Kalyani. There too admission was denied to him for lack of doctors. With much hope, we reached Kolkata Medical College; there too he was refused admission saying that brain surgery cannot be conducted on an emergency basis and only twice in a week brain surgery is conducted. By this time, more than nine hours had passed. I could not admit my father to any state hospital. Even though we come from a very poor family, I rushed my father to a private hospital in Barasat. I had to pay the hospital bills after borrowing money. I paid around Rs 3 lakh. After a week in the hospital, my father succumbed to his brain hemorrhage on 29 August.

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“I am sure if the doctors were on their usual duty, my father would not have died for lack of timely medical attention. Poor people like us cannot afford private hospitals, but since the doctors are on protest, the usual medical services have been badly affected. The doctors have the right to protest but at the same time provide attention to the medical services and see that no patient is deprived of medical assistance,” said the aggrieved son.

I beg assistance from the state government since we are totally ruined. We now have no money to feed us and now have to pay back the loan, said the son.