Video of doctor forcing man to buy kit goes viral, BJMC dean orders inquiry

PUNE: The dean of the BJ Medical College (BJMC) and Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) on Tuesday set up an inquiry committee to probe a viral video that showed a junior resident doctor forcing a patient’s relative to buy an “aneurysm clip” kit worth Rs 24,500 from a specific private medical store for treatment.
In the video, which went viral on social media platforms on Tuesday, the doctor from the neurosurgery department can be heard telling the patient’s relative that the kit costs Rs24,500 and he needed to get it immediately from the medical store outside the govt hospital.
The doctor is also heard telling the relative that one of two patients who underwent surgery a day before died for want of the necessary kit. When the relative says that he can only arrange Rs 8,000-10,000, the doctor in the video is heard saying, “If you didn’t have the money, why did you get the patient here. Go and sell something from the house to arrange the money.”
Confirming the development, hospital dean Dr Chandrakant Mhaske said, “We have formed an inquiry committee to look into the matter. Deputy dean Dr Murlidhar Tambe will head the probe committee.”
When contacted, health hub’s deputy dean Dr Tambe said, “We are looking into the incident. We have also asked the patient’s relative to come and narrate the entire incident. Besides, the resident doctor in question has been summoned too to present his side of the story. Apparently, the doctor had asked the relative to get the kit for clipping an aneurysm.”
A city-based neurosurgeon, explaining what an aneurysm clip kit is, said, “Aneurysm is when the blood vessel in the brain balloons more than 50% of the normal diameter. Over time, this portion can be punctured resulting in blood spilling out of the vessel and clotting. So, when an aneurysm is detected, a neurosurgeon uses clips from the kit and close off the aneurysm.”