In July of 2023, Dr. Trincomalee Rajeswaran Vijayakumar, known to colleagues and friends as ‘Kumar’ was admitted into Morriston Hospital in Swansea, Wales. He was reportedly suffering from shortness of breath.
At 89 years old, the retired Accident & Emergency (A&E) trauma surgeon passed away under circumstances of alleged involuntary end-of-life protocol placement., medication withdrawal and oxygen deprivation.
The victim’s family alleges that within weeks of his admission to the hospital, the surgeon who had dedicated his life to emergency care, was subjected to a treatment regimen that was against his explicit wishes.
Three years after his death on August 3, 2023, his daughter, Jan Kumar, continues her quest for transparency and accountability regarding the decisions made during her father’s final days.
A report published in The Light, Issue 74, in October 2026, added further details to the family's account, including an alleged second medical opinion, four letters sent to the hospital trust's chief executive, and questions about blood test results.
On July 11, 2023, Dr. Vijayakumar walked into the hospital, unaccompanied, suffering from shortness of breath. It was only after 13 hours that he was assigned a bed and was later moved to a side room in a respiratory ward.
Initially, he was placed on high-flow oxygen via nasal cannula and diagnosed with suspected pneumonitis. Hospital staff estimated that his recovery would take at least six weeks due to his age. However, two weeks into his stay, the trajectory of his care shifted dramatically.
His daughter, Jan, claims that his oxygen levels were reduced despite his objection as a surgeon. Dr. Vijayakumar told his nurses that maintaining sufficient oxygen was necessary for tissue recovery and repeatedly complained about difficulty in breathing, but his complaints and inputs were deliberately neglected.
According to family accounts, a newly assigned consultant evaluated Dr. Vijayakumar and, within 20 minutes, recommended moving him to palliative care.
Dr. Vijayakumar, who remained fully lucid, actively refused palliative care, maintaining that he was not dying. A visiting friend, also a retired surgeon, questioned why end-of-life care was being discussed when no terminal diagnosis had been established.
According to The Light, the family requested a second opinion on August 2, 2023. The publication reports that another respiratory consultant from the same hospital examined Dr. Vijayakumar that afternoon and agreed that he should have more time and as much oxygen as needed.
The central allegations raised by Jan Kumar focus on the management of her father's treatments and medications:
Role of Physician Associates: Dr. Vijayakumar and his daughter were repeatedly informed during their interactions that his death was certain. Jan notes that the key decisions regarding her father’s treatment were made by a Physician Associate whom Dr. Vijayakumar initially mistook for a medical doctor.
Withdrawal of Active Medications: Unknown to the family at the time, Dr. Vijayakumar’s ongoing prescriptions, including his regular general care treatments for high blood pressure, anticoagulants, and high-dose steroids, were discontinued. Jan believes that this sudden withdrawal from his medications triggered a severe hypertensive crisis.
Administration of Sedatives: Dr. Vijayakumar was prescribed Oramorph (liquid morphine) and Midazolam, despite remaining conscious, reading, texting, and writing in his diary. His family asserts he was not in pain and had explicitly requested that respiratory-depressant drugs must not be administered.
The October 2026 report in The Light adds that Jan recalled her father experiencing chest pain and backache during the early hours of August 3, before midazolam was administered. The report says Jan questioned whether a hypertensive emergency had occurred following the withdrawal of his regular medication.
The publication also reports that Jan disputed the completeness of the clinical documentation and that the nurse and registrar denied that Dr. Vijayakumar had experienced chest pain.
In his personal hospital diary, Dr. Vijayakumar recorded his distress. He noted that nurses repeatedly lowered his oxygen at night and described the two attending nurses as a ‘lethal combination’. In one entry, he wrote: "What conspiracy is this?"
The October report also states that the family sent four letters to the hospital trust's chief executive about the alleged oxygen reductions.
In the early morning hours of August 3, 2023, Jan received a call from her father’s phone urging her to rush to the hospital. She found her father unresponsive after receiving an abdominal injection of Midazolam. Hours later, Dr. Vijayakumar passed away.
After Dr. Vijayakumar’s death, Jan sought legal help to obtain her father’s medical files. The records revealed significant gaps. Nursing notes from his final night were not documented and blood test results were missing. An NT-proBNP test, found in the hospital records, diagnosing heart failure, had been conducted by the hospital but the test was never disclosed to Dr. Vijayakumar or his family.
The blood report said that two results suggested acute heart failure, while others pointed to kidney problems and possible acute kidney injury. The report also states that Dr. Vijayakumar had specifically requested an NT-proBNP test.
The hospital documentation later shed light on potential contributing factors such as acute heart failure and kidney issues as well. Jan mentions that hiding these documents was against their right to informed consent, and prevented them from making rational decisions on his active treatment.
Dr. Vijayakumar’s case highlights broader, ongoing debates regarding patient autonomy, the transparency of hospital end-of-life pathways, and the scope of practice for non-physician clinicians in acute care settings.
Note: The claims detailed in this article are based on statements provided by Jan Kumar, hospital diary entries written by Dr. Vijayakumar, and medical records cited in reported proceedings.
(Rh/MF/MSM)