Man declared dead in Indian hospital wakes up just before his autopsy was about to begin

An Indian man who was mistakenly declared dead by doctors, woke up in a morgue minutes before his autopsy what about to start. The 45-year-old man was found unconscious at a bus depot in Mumbai, India, after apparently suffering from an ear infection and malnutrition. He was taken to hospital by police and declared dead by a senior doctor after checking his pulse, according to sources at the Lokmanya Tilak General Hospital.

 

Chief Medical Officer Dr Rohan Rohekar allegedly told staff to take the body straight to the morgue, contrary to hospital rules which requires corpses to be held in casualty ward for a two-hour 'cooling off' period in case there is a chance of revival.

But just as the body was being prepared for the post-mortem, two porters were stunned to see him breathing after spotting 'his stomach moving up and down'.

According to NDTV, the man woke up amid the commotion as staff rushed back to the casualty ward to inform doctors.

Dr Rohekar has been accused of tearing up his death report and erasing an entry he made in the casualty ward diary after learning of his alleged blunder.

Police officers, who had arrived at the hospital to file an accidental death report, say staff refused to let them in and Dr Rohekar would reveal the whereabouts of the erased records.  

Senior Police Inspector Yeshudas Gorde said: 'It is a serious case of negligence by the doctor. We were shocked to find patient was alive after he had been declared dead. We have written to the dean of Sion Hospital, asking him to conduct an inquiry and give us the report. Once the report is out, we can take action. The hospital authorities should take action against the person responsible for this incident.' 

Hospital dean, Dr Suleman Merchant, reportedly said it was not unusual for doctors to miss a patient's pulse if the body had suffered shock or trauma.

He said: 'We have reprimanded the doctor and have told him that in such cases the body must be kept in the casualty ward for a cooling off period of two hours.

'This doctor is new to the hospital and so isn't familiar with the procedure.'

Dr Rohekar could not be reached for comment.

The patient, who has not been named, is currently being treated for an ear infection and malnutrition.

Source: UK Daily Mail/NDTV