Jamshedpur: Security and surveillance systems at Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College and Hospital (MGMMCH) have come under scanner after a 55-year-old patient slipped out of the hospital and was later found dead.Santaram Halua, who was admitted to the hospital on July 6, left his ward early on July 10, telling attendants that he was going to the washroom but never returned. An unidentified body recovered near a factory gate in Sakchi on the same day was identified as that of Santaram by police on July 12. The body was sent for postmortem examination on Monday.Hospital sources said Santaram was being treated on the fourth floor of the IPD after being admitted with complaints of fatigue. Around 1 am on July 10, he walked out of the ward. When he did not return by 3 am, his wife began searching for him and informed their son, Puran Lal, the following morning. CCTV footage later showed Santaram exiting the hospital through the rear gate.Following the incident, Puran raised concerns over the hospital’s security arrangements and lodged a complaint with DSP (home guard) Harihar Singh Munda.MGMMCH superintendent Balram Jha said patients often mix with visitors entering the emergency ward at night and manage to leave unnoticed. “A dress code for IPD patients will help security personnel identify them, even at night. We expect the patient uniforms to be delivered soon,” he said.Jha added that a detailed inquiry was ordered and the security agency was directed to deploy additional personnel at entry and exit points at night. Hospital officials said several patients who leave the premises unnoticed have a history of substance addiction or mental health issues.On July 11, a 38-year-old patient went missing from the ward and was later found in the hospital basement. On March 23, the body of a 54-year-old patient was found in a rubbish dump on the hospital campus, while a 25-year-old patient died after jumping from the fourth floor of the building on March 20.
