Patient killed after ceiling fan falls on him, hospital blames medical condition
A patient died hours after a ceiling fan allegedly fell on his bed in Delhi's GTB Hospital emergency ward. The incident has triggered demands for an inquiry into maintenance and patient safety lapses.
A 42-year-old patient died about three hours after a ceiling fan allegedly fell on him inside the emergency ward of Delhi's Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, prompting his family to demand an inquiry. Eyewitnesses and other attendants in the ward alleged that the fan detached and fell on the patient's bed, leading to his death.
Hospital sources said the incident happened around 9.30 pm on Saturday and that Mohammad Akbar, who had been admitted a day earlier, died at 12.16 am on Sunday. They said the Public Works Department repaired the fan after the incident and that a male nurse was injured and given medical assistance, but added that more details would be available only after an official report. According to sources, Akbar's death certificate recorded his underlying medical conditions as the cause of death.
The incident took place in Emergency Ward-27, where Akbar was undergoing treatment, sources said. According to eyewitnesses, the ceiling fan suddenly came loose and fell directly onto his bed, striking him in the abdomen, after which hospital staff attended to him.
Sources said Akbar, who was admitted on July 18, was suffering from multiple serious ailments, including hypertension, meningoencephalitis and aspiration pneumonia. On Sunday morning, his family reached the hospital and sought a thorough inquiry, alleging serious lapses in maintenance and patient safety.
Eyewitnesses also disputed the hospital's account about the nurse. They alleged that the nurse had been injured in a separate incident a few months ago and not during the current episode.
Muhammad Aslam Qureshi, an advocate who said he witnessed the incident, alleged, "I had gone to the ward to meet my brother when I saw the ceiling fan fall on a patient. I immediately recorded a video of the incident. The patient appeared to be around 50 years old and had been admitted just a day earlier. He was fine before the incident, but later died. The doctors are saying the fan fell on a nurse, but I was present there and saw it fall on the patient."
Qureshi further alleged, "The doctor reached the patient after a delay. The hospital administration has been negligent. The fans and air-conditioners meant for patients are not functioning properly, while doctors have air-conditioned facilities. There is no value of patients' lives here."
Several attendants said many air-conditioners in the ward were either not working or had missing parts, leaving ceiling fans as the main source of ventilation in the humid weather. Family members of patients also questioned the condition of facilities at the government-run hospital.
One attendant said, "Is this the kind of treatment patients are getting?" Another attendant alleged that his brother had earlier been given an incorrect needle, which was later replaced by hospital staff. "First, they put the wrong needle in his hand and then came back and changed it," he claimed.
The death has led to demands for an inquiry, with the family and eyewitnesses alleging failures in maintenance and patient safety, while hospital sources said the official report would provide further details and that the death certificate cited Akbar's existing medical conditions.
A 42-year-old patient died about three hours after a ceiling fan allegedly fell on him inside the emergency ward of Delhi's Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, prompting his family to demand an inquiry. Eyewitnesses and other attendants in the ward alleged that the fan detached and fell on the patient's bed, leading to his death.
Hospital sources said the incident happened around 9.30 pm on Saturday and that Mohammad Akbar, who had been admitted a day earlier, died at 12.16 am on Sunday. They said the Public Works Department repaired the fan after the incident and that a male nurse was injured and given medical assistance, but added that more details would be available only after an official report. According to sources, Akbar's death certificate recorded his underlying medical conditions as the cause of death.
The incident took place in Emergency Ward-27, where Akbar was undergoing treatment, sources said. According to eyewitnesses, the ceiling fan suddenly came loose and fell directly onto his bed, striking him in the abdomen, after which hospital staff attended to him.
Sources said Akbar, who was admitted on July 18, was suffering from multiple serious ailments, including hypertension, meningoencephalitis and aspiration pneumonia. On Sunday morning, his family reached the hospital and sought a thorough inquiry, alleging serious lapses in maintenance and patient safety.
Eyewitnesses also disputed the hospital's account about the nurse. They alleged that the nurse had been injured in a separate incident a few months ago and not during the current episode.
Muhammad Aslam Qureshi, an advocate who said he witnessed the incident, alleged, "I had gone to the ward to meet my brother when I saw the ceiling fan fall on a patient. I immediately recorded a video of the incident. The patient appeared to be around 50 years old and had been admitted just a day earlier. He was fine before the incident, but later died. The doctors are saying the fan fell on a nurse, but I was present there and saw it fall on the patient."
Qureshi further alleged, "The doctor reached the patient after a delay. The hospital administration has been negligent. The fans and air-conditioners meant for patients are not functioning properly, while doctors have air-conditioned facilities. There is no value of patients' lives here."
Several attendants said many air-conditioners in the ward were either not working or had missing parts, leaving ceiling fans as the main source of ventilation in the humid weather. Family members of patients also questioned the condition of facilities at the government-run hospital.
One attendant said, "Is this the kind of treatment patients are getting?" Another attendant alleged that his brother had earlier been given an incorrect needle, which was later replaced by hospital staff. "First, they put the wrong needle in his hand and then came back and changed it," he claimed.
The death has led to demands for an inquiry, with the family and eyewitnesses alleging failures in maintenance and patient safety, while hospital sources said the official report would provide further details and that the death certificate cited Akbar's existing medical conditions.
A 42-year-old patient died about three hours after a ceiling fan allegedly fell on him inside the emergency ward of Delhi's Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, prompting his family to demand an inquiry. Eyewitnesses and other attendants in the ward alleged that the fan detached and fell on the patient's bed, leading to his death.
Hospital sources said the incident happened around 9.30 pm on Saturday and that Mohammad Akbar, who had been admitted a day earlier, died at 12.16 am on Sunday. They said the Public Works Department repaired the fan after the incident and that a male nurse was injured and given medical assistance, but added that more details would be available only after an official report. According to sources, Akbar's death certificate recorded his underlying medical conditions as the cause of death.
The incident took place in Emergency Ward-27, where Akbar was undergoing treatment, sources said. According to eyewitnesses, the ceiling fan suddenly came loose and fell directly onto his bed, striking him in the abdomen, after which hospital staff attended to him.
Sources said Akbar, who was admitted on July 18, was suffering from multiple serious ailments, including hypertension, meningoencephalitis and aspiration pneumonia. On Sunday morning, his family reached the hospital and sought a thorough inquiry, alleging serious lapses in maintenance and patient safety.
Eyewitnesses also disputed the hospital's account about the nurse. They alleged that the nurse had been injured in a separate incident a few months ago and not during the current episode.
Muhammad Aslam Qureshi, an advocate who said he witnessed the incident, alleged, "I had gone to the ward to meet my brother when I saw the ceiling fan fall on a patient. I immediately recorded a video of the incident. The patient appeared to be around 50 years old and had been admitted just a day earlier. He was fine before the incident, but later died. The doctors are saying the fan fell on a nurse, but I was present there and saw it fall on the patient."
Qureshi further alleged, "The doctor reached the patient after a delay. The hospital administration has been negligent. The fans and air-conditioners meant for patients are not functioning properly, while doctors have air-conditioned facilities. There is no value of patients' lives here."
Several attendants said many air-conditioners in the ward were either not working or had missing parts, leaving ceiling fans as the main source of ventilation in the humid weather. Family members of patients also questioned the condition of facilities at the government-run hospital.
One attendant said, "Is this the kind of treatment patients are getting?" Another attendant alleged that his brother had earlier been given an incorrect needle, which was later replaced by hospital staff. "First, they put the wrong needle in his hand and then came back and changed it," he claimed.
The death has led to demands for an inquiry, with the family and eyewitnesses alleging failures in maintenance and patient safety, while hospital sources said the official report would provide further details and that the death certificate cited Akbar's existing medical conditions.
