Heart patient in Kerala dies after treatment by failed 2nd year MBBS student

The Kerala Police arrested an "unqualified" resident medical officer (RMO) following the death of a 60-year-old heart patient at a private hospital in Kozhikode.

In Short

• Unqualified resident medical officer treats heart patient
• Medical officer still a second-year MBBS student
• Kerala hospital admits lapse in verification

In a case of alleged medical negligence in Kerala, a man who had yet to finish the second year of the MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery) treated a heart patient, leading to his death.

The Kerala Police arrested the “unqualified” resident medical officer (RMO) following the death of the 60-year-old heart patient, identified as Vinod Kumar, at a private hospital in Kozhikode district. The incident occurred on September 23, sparking outrage after it was revealed that the medical officer in question, identified as Abu Abraham Luke, had not even completed his medical education.

Vinod Kumar, who was suffering from severe chest pain and breathlessness, was rushed to the hospital but died shortly after receiving treatment. His son, Dr Ashwin Pachaatt Vinod, expressed shock upon learning that the RMO responsible for his father’s care was still a second-year medical student.

Speaking to India Today, Ashwin Pachaatt Vinod said, "I lost my father due to gross negligence on the part of TMH Hospital and a quack who was masquerading as an RMO on duty on September 23. During that time, I was delivering my duty as a resident doctor at PGI Chandigarh. Through phone, I was able to contact Abu Abraham Luke, who told me that my father was brought to the emergency department with complaints of shortness of breath and chest pain. And he told me that my father came in a bit late and nothing could have been done to save my father."

"I travelled from Chandigarh to Kozhikode on the same day and after performing the last rites, we started investigating this. We found that Abu Abraham Luke has not completed his MBBS degree so far. He enrolled himself into a private college in Kerala way back in 2011, and, in the past 12 years, he has not been able to clear his second year subjects."

Ashwin Pachaatt Vinod said that he took the matter to the higher authorities and also spoke about his ordeal on social media platforms.

"It pains me a lot to think that while I was diligently delivering my duties as a resident doctor in Chandigarh, the least I could expect from the doctors in Kerala was that my father or mother, in the face of an emergency, would be getting the bare minimum first-aid measures from a qualified MBBS doctor," he said.

Ashwin Pachaatt Vinod said that the police registered an FIR on the basis of his complaint and Abu Abraham Luke was arrested.

"Hopefully, in the upcoming days, an FIR will be filed against the hospital management," Ashwin Pachaatt Vinod said, adding, "My ultimate aim is to ensure that the ill-fate that fell on my father does not happen to anyone else in the country."

Meanwhile, the hospital has acknowledged a lapse in verifying the RMO’s qualifications. Abu Abraham Luke has been dismissed from his position. The hospital manager claimed that the institution had followed its standard procedure by checking Luke's medical registration number before hiring him.

"He worked in many hospitals in Kozhikode and Malappuram before joining us. We just checked his medical registration number, and he had worked with bigger hospitals than ours in the past. So we went ahead with the appointment. He was a really good doctor, with patients cancelling their appointments if he was not available. He was well-behaved with patients and highly respected. So there was no scope for doubt," the hospital authorities said.