Colleagues: She was fine, busy with patients till 2am
Times of India | 10 August 2024
12 Kolkata: All was fine with the trainee doctor till 2 am on Friday when she interacted for the last time with colleagues in the respiratory medicine department till one of them found her dead inside the seminar room around 7 am. They are still in shock and disbelief at the turn of events.
According to colleagues, the 31-year-old started her day at the busy respiratory medicine OPD around 10 am on Thursday from where six patients were admitted in the unit 11-A of the department she is attached with.Around 3 pm, she reached the third floor of the emergency building where her department’s indoor ward is located.
“She did rounds to check on patients admitted in the ward and was busy in patient care till late into the night except for spending a few minutes to have dinner around 11 pm,” said a colleague.
As a norm, a second-year PGT doctor is the senior-most doctor taking care of patients during the night with help from two first-year PGTs and interns and house staff. In emergencies, seniors are available on call. On Thursday night, as the charge of her unit, she was busy till 2 am tending to patients. She would have ended her duty only at 4 pm on Friday.
“She wanted to rest a bit and also study and hence headed to the seminar room after telling her juniors to call her in case of any exigency. And that was the last time she interacted with colleagues,” said a colleague.
The PGTs and junior doctors often use the sleep lab in the department as a rest room whenever there are no patients as the room is air conditioned. But on Thursday night, a patient was admitted for sleep study and hence she had headed to the seminar room.
“She also sometimes calls me and other seniors who are on call in case of any emergency during the night shift. Last night no call came from her as there was no problem with any patient. We were relaxed till we got the shocking information on Friday morning,” said a senior colleague.
An MBBS pass-out from College of Medicine and JNM Hospital Kalyani, the PGT cracked the NEET-PG to bag an MD seat at R G Kar.
“The last time I met her was when she was heading to the department from the OPD on Thursday afternoon. We exchanged pleasantries but could not interact much. She was nice and very focused on her work. Didi can’t end her life,” said a junior colleague.