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A 48‑year‑old man died after being admitted with chest pain at a government medical college in Thiruvananthapuram amid allegations of delay and lack of senior doctor availability, does this case reflect a broader trend of treatment delay in India’s public hospitals?
The family claims no duty doctor was available on Sunday and angiogram was delayed until midweek.
Kollam: On a Saturday night, Venu, a 48‑year‑old resident of Kollam district, presented at the chest pain clinic of the Government Medical College Hospital (MCH) in Thiruvananthapuram after experiencing chest pain for more than 24 hours. According to hospital officials, his case was complicated: he had diabetes, hypertension, elevated creatinine and a prior history of stroke or transient ischaemic attack. These factors, they say, made an immediate angiogram unsafe and medical management was initiated with heparin, a blood thinner, before the cardiology department assumed care on Monday.
The deceased man’s wife, however, offers a starkly different account. She alleges that after admission on Saturday night the family was informed that no duty doctor was available on Sunday, and they were asked to take an outpatient ticket or wait until Monday. She claims that later a cardiologist told them that an angiogram could only be scheduled for Wednesday or Friday. Meanwhile the patient was waiting and deteriorating. A voice message made by Venu during his hospital stay, describing his experience of lying unattended, has circulated online and triggered the family’s protest.
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Hospital authorities at MCH deny any wrongdoing or negligence. They maintain that treatment protocols were followed and decision‑making was guided by the risk‑profile of the patient. Dr C. G. Jayachandran, Superintendent of the medical college, said that given the patient’s multiple risk factors, the decision to defer invasive investigation was medically justified. The hospital says the case is being reviewed and the Health Minister has directed the Director of Medical Education to submit a detailed report. Meanwhile the family has filed complaints with both the state Health Minister and Chief Minister and threatened legal action. The Opposition has demanded registration of a murder case against the hospital authorities.
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While not every delayed treatment case leads to a death or legal action, there is growing evidence of treatment‑delay, mis‑management and resource constraints in Indian healthcare. A study found that in cases judged for medical negligence, delays in treatment or referral, though a small percentage, are documented among the causes. Further, research suggests that India sees up to 5.2 million medical‑malpractice cases annually, reflecting widespread patient dissatisfaction and systemic gaps in timely care. Although these figures do not isolate delay‑caused deaths specifically, they point to a trend where inadequate infrastructure, understaffing and risk‑averse decisions may contribute to harmful outcomes. In public hospitals where patient loads are high and resources stretched, the window for life‑saving intervention in chest pain or cardiac emergencies may be narrowed; when delays occur, the consequences can be fatal.
This case underscores several critical areas for review: availability of round‑the‑clock specialist care in chest pain and cardiology units, transparent communication with waiting patients and families about treatment timelines and risk, robust triage systems to prioritise urgent cases, and monitoring of outcomes to identify patterns of delay. For public trust to be maintained, hospitals must also ensure accountability mechanisms, timely investigations and swift institutional responses when delays may have cost lives.
