MYSURU: The death of eight patients within a 24-hour period in the ICU of the Mysuru unit of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research sparked controversy after a social media post went viral, alleging that 12 patients died due to a shortage of doctors and medical negligence.Hospital authorities on Wednesday clarified that only eight inpatients died during the official reporting period from Monday midnight to Tuesday midnight and stated that all of them were being treated for serious cardiac conditions. Among the deceased, two were over 80 years old, one was 70, four were between 55 and 64 years, and one was 43, the hospital said.As the post gained traction online, Dr B Dinesha, director of the institute, rushed to review hospital records. He dismissed claims that the deaths were linked to staff shortages or negligence. Dinesha said the patients were undergoing treatment for two to three days and were suffering from severe complications and multiple comorbidities. While he acknowledged that the number of deaths was somewhat unusual, he maintained that the medical conditions of the patients were consistent with the hospital’s case profile.In the viral video, people were complaining about alleged lack of facilities at the hospital. Dinesha said the facility has adequate staff, with a staffing gap of around 5%.
