Multiple Deaths and Negligence Probe at Thane Municipal Hospital Sparks Outrage
In a recent series of tragic events, Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC)-run Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (CSM) Hospital in Kalwa has come under scrutiny after multiple deaths and allegations of negligence. The incidents have sparked outrage among the public and raised concerns about the state of healthcare in the district.
Five patients died on Thursday, followed by 18 additional deaths between Saturday night and Sunday morning. On Monday, four more deaths were reported, further exacerbating the situation. Nilesh Sambare, the founder of Jijau Sanstha, expressed his anger over what he called the victims of chaos in Thane’s municipal hospitals, emphasizing that the situation is deeply distressing.
Sambare highlighted several instances of mismanagement at CSM Hospital, including keeping the bodies in the ICU for several hours, failure to move deceased patients promptly, and placing other patients next to the deceased. He described these practices as disturbing and claimed that the hospital’s negligence has led to such incidents occurring frequently.
The mismanagement of CSM Hospital has been brought to light on multiple occasions. Just a few months ago, a 23-year-old patient named Prachi Agadkar faced a financial crisis due to wrong treatment at the hospital. During her knee surgery, a Nike belt was broken, and instead of using a new belt, the same one was reattached. In another shocking incident, a patient was discharged without anesthesia and surgery, supposedly due to the hospital’s lack of facilities.
The Jijau organization has previously raised concerns about the hospital’s inefficiencies. CSM Hospital in Kalwa bears the burden of the healthcare system in Thane city, Thane rural, and Palghar district. Patients from rural areas often turn to CSM Hospital as a last resort, facing financial constraints, lack of ambulances, insufficient geographical information, delayed access to information, and illiteracy. These factors, combined with the hospital’s failure to provide timely treatment, increase the risk of patient deaths.
Nilesh Sambare urged the Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde, to ensure proper health facilities for the underprivileged in government hospitals. He specifically requested measures to prevent the harassment of patients. In response, CM Shinde directed immediate remedial actions, acknowledging the seriousness of the issue. However, Sambare believes that the recent incident could have been avoided if the hospital administration had taken these matters more seriously and implemented necessary measures in a timely manner.
While organizations like Jijau are operating free hospitals in remote areas like Palghar to prevent deaths due to financial constraints, common people continue to suffer due to administrative negligence. Sambare questioned why the administration of CSM Hospital, with its ample resources, fails to run the hospital in a systematic manner when a small organization like Jijau can successfully manage a modern hospital with 130 beds in a remote village.
The recent events at Thane Municipal Hospital have raised serious concerns about the quality of healthcare provided to the public. It is imperative for the authorities to address the issues of negligence, mismanagement, and lack of facilities promptly to prevent further loss of life. The public demands accountability and immediate action to ensure that such tragedies are not repeated in the future.
