A 28-year-old woman died of a snake bite in Palghar while she was being transported for tertiary treatment indicating poor healthcare facilities in the district. The patient passed within seven hours of the bite. This is the second death due to snake bite in the last two months in the Palghar district. The relatives of the deceased have alleged Palghar Rural Hospital (RH) of negligence and providing inadequate treatment.
Sonali Vishnu Dhamoda residing in the Gholivira area in Palghar East was bitten by a snake bite while she was sleeping at her residence at 1am on July 27. The relatives saw a common krait snake moving out of the house. The victim was taken to RH for treatment within 20 minutes of the bite. The patient's condition deteriorated by 7 am and she died on the way to Vedanta Hospital in Dahanu Taluka where she was referred to for tertiary treatment.
The RH staff said that the patient initially exhibited no symptoms of a poisonous snake bite nor the relatives confirmed this confidently. The patient vomited at 3 am and only thereafter the treatment for a venomous bite was started. The patient had comorbidities which resulted in less response to the treatment said the doctors.
Snake bit the woman while she was asleep
Santosh a relative of the deceased alleged that there was no on-duty doctor when the patient was brought to the hospital at 1.30 am and the support staff was busy on a mobile call which delayed the golden hour treatment to the patient. The relatives were asked to move the patient to another hospital when the patient's condition turned serious, he said. The patient died within 30 minutes while being transported to the other hospital. The relatives of patients have registered complaint against the negligence of the doctors.
The second death due to snake bite in Palghar district happened in the district headquarters and the Urban locality plagued by inadequate anti-venom injectables and casual approach of the medical institutions. The negligent attitude has resulted in many deaths of patients being treated in the Palghar district.
