KATHMANDU, Feb 11: A bed at the intensive care unit (ICU) at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) had been reserved since Monday afternoon for former prime minister Sushil Koirala. A relative of Koirala had called the latter's personal physician after his condition started deteriorating. The doctor reached the Koirala rresidence and realized that things were getting worse and called the hospital for an ambulance.Things could have been different had the phone at TUTH responded. "I tried to call 13 times but the phone did not respond," said Dr Kabir Nath Yogi, personal physician to the late Koirala, adding that he had also called former president Rambaran Yadav three times for suggestions but his phone also did not respond.
"I feel guilty as he died before we could take him to hospital," said Dr Yogi, insisting that he tried his best to save Koirala and there were no lapses on his part. He said that there were some vehicles available at the Koirala residence but an ambulance with oxygen was needed to take a pneumonia patient to hospital.
"I was able to serve him for so long but he died in my hands," he said adding he regretted the fact that Koirala overcame a battery of deadly ailments but succumbed to pneumonia. Dr Yogi also said Koirala was not taken to hospital on Monday afternoon as he had eaten more gruel than usual and his condition appeared to have improved.
According to Dr Yogi, Koirala's nephew Atul had called him at 11 p.m. after the patient showed breathing difficulty. Dr Yogi told him to send a driver with some money and reached the Koirala residence immediately with injections. Koirala found it difficult to speak, the blue in his appearance had increased and his overall condition was deteriorating. He said Koirala had been complaining of breathing difficulty for the last two days.
Dr Yogi claimed that everything had been all right when he left the patient at 9 p.m. on Monday. His vital signs were steady, the fever was down and blood pressure was normal. Dr Man Bahadur KC of Sahid Gangalal National Heart Center (SGNHC) had also examined Koirala some two weeks ago and ruled out heart complications as the reason for his swollen feet. He had been taking antibiotics for the previous three weeks.
Dr Yogi said Koirala was suffering from multiple lung diseases, including acute bronchitis, chronic bronchitis, acute infection, chronic infection and interstitial lung disease, and was under regular medication. He also had tuberculosis infection and had stopped taking medicine for that just four months ago.
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