The former chief minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is 'alert and responding to doctors and visitors', although he still remains on intermittent non-invasive ventilatory support, the Kolkata Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital said on Sunday. This is the ninth day of admission for the 79-year-old former CM, as per the press release. Bhattacharjee was admitted to the Woodlands Hospital with a lower respiratory tract infection and Type II respiratory failure on July 29.
The hospital said in the statement that the overall clinical status of the former chief minister remains stable. On Monday, a medical board will convene for further deliberation. It also said that conservative medical management, physiotherapy, and lung rehabilitation are ongoing.
“Arterial line has been removed today morning. He is undergoing trial on his home BIPAP Machine. He is on Ryles tube feeding and swallow assessment is being done”, the statement read.
Bhattacharjee is under the close watch of the multidisciplinary team who are treating him, said Dr. Rupali Basu, Managing Director & CEO of Woodlands Hospital.
In May 2021, the former West Bengal CM was admitted to the same hospital with a Covid-19 infection. He was released after seven days. The veteran Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) leader, who lives in a small two-room government apartment in the Ballygunge area in south Kolkata, has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a Hindustan Times report. He has rarely left his house in the past few years.
On Monday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that former CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee waved at her when she went to meet her. Bengal governor C. V. Ananda Bose had alsocalled on the hospital to inquire about Bhattacharjee’s health.