Heart patient's death in Gazipur hospital: 'Jostling' inside lift delayed rescue operation, authorities claim
Although the Automated Rescue Device (ARD) typically activates within a minute in such situations, panicked occupants, accompanying the patient, exacerbated the situation inside, causing the door safety system to malfunction
The authorities of Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmed Medical College Hospital in Gazipur have attributed the death of a patient to the chaos inside a lift during a power outage, which damaged the safety system and delayed the rescue operation.
The heart patient died after getting stuck in a lift for about 45 minutes. The deceased was identified as Momtaz Begum, 53, wife of Sharfuddin of Raniganj Barigaon village in Kapasia upazila of Gazipur.
In a letter sent to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) yesterday (12 May) afternoon, the hospital authorities also contested previous claims, stating that the lift was stuck for a maximum of 10-15 minutes, not the reported 45 minutes.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Tajuddin Ahmed Medical College Hospital Director Md Jahangir Alam confirmed the letter noting that it was based on preliminary findings.
According to the letter, the lift got trapped between the 9th and 10th floor initially due to a power outage. Although the Automated Rescue Device (ARD) typically activates within a minute in such situations, panicked occupants, accompanying the patient, exacerbated the situation inside, causing the door safety system to malfunction.
After manual intervention by the lift operator, the elevator was brought to a floor and people including the patient were able to come out of it.
The entire process reportedly took 10-15 minutes, said the letter signed by the hospital director (acting) Md Jahangir Alam and PWD E/M Division-10 Engineer Md Abdul Halim.
Momtaz, who got stuck inside the lift, was rushed to the emergency department but was declared dead upon arrival.
Regarding the fitness and maintenance status of the lift, the letter affirmed that it was fully operational and was under regular servicing.
The letter also informed that a five-member probe committee has been formed to investigate the incident
Reportedly, the incident took place around 9:30am when Momtaz was being taken to the heart department on the fourth floor of the hospital from the 11th floor.
