Out of these, 75 of them were on the ventilator at the time, and now, 18 patients have passed away due to unclear reasons.
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According to Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhkrishnan, the MIOT hospital was treating around 575 patients when the floods began.
“On a written requisition of the MIOT hospital authorities, the bodies were removed to Government Royapettah Hospital mortuary for safe custody”, Radhakrishnan said.
The health department officials rushed some oxygen cylinders from the Government Hospital to MIOT Hospital. Police recovered the bodies and shifted them for autopsy.
Instead of shifting the patients using the boats, Radhakrishnan said seven ambulances were organised for the objective.
Kalaivanan L, whose uncle was admitted for a throat operation said “We came to know of his death today morning via a news channel”, he said.
Meanwhile, with the water receding, Chennai city and its suburbs on Friday battled hard to pick up the pieces of life but occasional heavy rains threatened to cause more flooding as lakhs of people in the worst-hit areas faced acute shortages of essentials, including water, power, milk and food items, PTI reported.
“We tried to call for help and back-up power but phone lines were down. A total of 14 patients died between Wednesday and Thursday”, a senior doctor of the hospital said. The patients did not die due to ventilator failure as 57 patients were on ventilator on Friday when we went for inspection.
“I just got through to my family…they are safe”, said a young MIOT nurse, sobbing at the reception of the Madras Medical Mission hospital.
The hospital was functioning without power for the last three days as the generator room and the ground floor was flooded. Some of the patients were referred to Ramachandra Medical Hospital and Kilpauk Hospital.
Chitra B, sister of one of the deceased, said her brother Vadivelu met with an accident on November 28 in Pondicherry and was admitted to MIOT hospital on December 1.
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Earlier the Health Secretary claimed that the patients had died of other causes and not due to suspension of electricity supply to the ventilator unit.
