Pensioner Tikiram Khalika, who died in hospital from injuries he sustained after he was struck down by a bus on Friday along the Public Road at Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara (WCD), was taken to the Georgetown Hospital in a “very critical condition,” the facility said yesterday.
Khalika, 61, of Anna Catherina, succumbed as a result of multiple wounds, a post-mortem examination found yesterday.
He died shortly after 8 am on Saturday at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH), where he remained since his transfer from the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) late Friday night.
His relatives have blamed negligence by hospital officials for his death, saying he endured long waiting periods before treatment at the GPH, WDRH and the Leonora Cottage Hospital where he had originally been taken after the accident.
But the GPH yesterday challenged this claim, saying that it was placed in an unfortunate position of having to deal with a patient who was taken to the hospital in a very critical condition, hours after he was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident.
In a statement, the GPH said that there was no lengthy waiting time at that institution. It said Khalika arrived at the hospital around 9:59 pm on Friday.
Upon his arrival, the statement said, Khalika was immediately triaged with the requisite follow-up that included lab test and x-rays, while noting that he was unresponsive and his glascocoma scale—used to determine the consciousness of a person—was recorded as 3/15.
The GPH also said all efforts made to resuscitate him failed and he succumbed at 8.10 am on Saturday.
When contacted, Minister of Health Dr Bheri Ramsaran, who was out of town on duty, referred this newspaper to Permanent Secretary of the ministry Leslie Cadogan.
Cadogan indicated that he was not aware of the case and asked for time to familiarise himself with it.
Khalika was struck down by a minibus while he was riding his bicycle. He was rushed to the Leonora Hospital but had to wait for about an hour before an ambulance arrived to transfer him to WDRH.
His niece, Jayashree Sarjoo, had told this newspaper that when he finally transferred, doctors at WDRH indicated to his relatives that he would be transferred to the hospital in the city.
He was then placed in the ambulance but was removed shortly after and left without oxygen for about half an hour although one of his lungs was punctured, his family stated.
Sarjoo had also said her uncle was placed in the ambulance for a second time only to be taken out again. When he was taken out the second time, she said, doctors indicated to them that they would have to wait until the ambulance took another patient to the city and returned before Khalika could be transferred, since only one person could fit in the ambulance.
At this point, relatives said, they began to inquire whether Khalika could be transferred to a private hospital, because of the delay and given his serious condition, but doctors at the hospital said no.
After the hours of waiting, Khalika was finally transferred to the GPH and taken to the Accident and Emergency Unit.
