The body of a 30-year-old female nurse was recovered from the government-run Nil Ratan Sarkar Medical College and Hospital (NRS). It was later revealed that she was attached to the Gynaecology and Obstetrics Department in the High Dependency Unit (HDU).
West Bengal Health Minister Sharadwat Mukherjee visited NRS Hospital on Thursday after news of the incident broke. It has come to light that, after attending to a patient and handing over the case following the completion of initial care, the nurse went to the toilet after 9:00 pm. Later, the resident doctor on duty began asking for her since she was gone for too long. It was then that a Group D assistant broke open the bathroom door and found her lifeless.
The motionless body was moved onto a trolley and junior doctors tried to revive her. However, she was soon declared dead. The police were informed immediately and arrived at the hospital between 10:45 pm and 11:00 pm. The late nurse’s husband, identified as Babul Das, also arrived at the hospital after 11:00 pm.
“We have handed over everything to the police,” said Minister Sharadwat Mukherjee.
Her colleagues were busy at work, and nobody noticed her absence until the resident doctor began asking for her. The nurse hailed from East Midnapore District but stayed in the Dum Dum Cantonment area. The family insisted that since she died at NRS Hospital, the post-mortem should be done elsewhere, and the body was thus shifted to Calcutta Medical College.
The health minister said a committee has been formed comprising members from NRS Hospital and the State Health Department to conduct an internal inquiry. The report will be submitted within seven working days to the Director of Medical Education.
“Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has given me immediate directions to do whatever is required and speak to her family members,” added Mukherjee, who then visited the Entally Police Station to meet the victim’s sister and husband.
