KDMC Suspends Worker After Fractured Leg Fitted With Cardboard at Kalyan Hospital

A patient with a fractured leg was fitted with a cardboard splint instead of a plaster cast at Rukminibai Hospital in Kalyan, sparking a controversy over medical care at the civic-run facility.

Following the incident, the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) suspended a sanitation worker, Mukesh Pandit. An initial inquiry revealed that Pandit had allegedly demanded Rs 400 from the patient’s family to arrange plastering materials.

The patient, identified as 54-year-old Ram Soni, a resident of Beturkar Pada in Kalyan (West), was brought to the hospital around 4:30 pm on Thursday after sustaining a leg injury. An X-ray confirmed that he had suffered a fracture, and a doctor on duty advised that a plaster cast be applied.

However, rather than receiving a standard plaster cast, Soni was given temporary support using pieces of cardboard, according to his son, Abhay.

Abhay alleged that hospital staff informed the family that four rolls of plaster were required to treat the fracture. The staff reportedly told them that purchasing the material outside would cost Rs 800, but offered to arrange the rolls for Rs 100 each, totaling Rs 400.

Hospital sources stated that an orthopaedic surgeon had examined Soni and departed after advising the application of a plaster cast. The patient's relatives were subsequently told by the staff to return the following day.

KDMC health officer Dr Deepa Shukla confirmed the administrative action and stated that sufficient plaster material was in stock at the healthcare facility when the incident took place. Shukla added that a formal departmental inquiry has been ordered against Pandit regarding the alleged extortion and mishandling of the patient.