By IANS,
Kolkata : The condition of critically ill Marxist veteran Jyoti Basu deteriorated Thursday. While the 95-year-old’s respiratory problems increased, his heart and kidney functioning worsened, hospital authorities said.
“Basu is still critical. The condition of his heart and kidney has deteriorated today,” a medical bulletin released by AMRI Hospital said.
“The oxygen requirement for his body has also increased. He is still on ventilator support,” it said. The former West Bengal chief minister was hospitalised Jan 1 after a pneumonia attack.
Earlier, AMRI medical superintendent Debashis Sharma said Basu’s urine output had come down in the morning. “His blood pressure is now being maintained through medicine,” Sharma told IANS.
The AMRI medical board is constantly monitoring his health. It will meet at 5.30 p.m. Thursday to review his health condition.
Sharma said the haemoglobin count of the ailing leader had improved Thursday morning. “The haemoglobin count is more than what it was last night,” he said.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader was admitted to the Salt Lake hospital near his residence Indira Bhavan Jan 1 after a pneumonia attack. He was shifted to the Intensive Cardiac Care Unit (ICCU) the next day and put on ventilator support Jan 6 following acute respiratory problems.
Born in 1914 in Kolkata, Basu became chief minister of West Bengal in June 1977. He stepped down voluntarily on health grounds in November 2000.