Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya was on Saturday afternoon admitted to a city-based hospital after he complained of breathlessness, officials said.
Bhattacharya (79) was immediately put in the critical care unit of the private hospital where he was rushed from his Palm Avenue residence via a green corridor.
Bhattacharya, who was the chief minister from 2000 to 2011, has been suffering from COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and other old age-related ailments for quite some time.
"Bhattacharya was admitted with lower respiratory tract infection and Type 2 respiratory failure. He has been put on non-invasive ventilation, antibiotics, and other supportive management. Necessary investigations have been done and the reports are awaited. His oxygen saturation deteriorated to 70 per cent in the afternoon and he became unconscious, following which he was rushed to the hospital," the official told PTI.
"He is haemodynamically stable," he added.
A team of senior doctors, including a cardiologist and a pulmonologist, was constituted to monitor his health.
"He has been put on non-invasive ventilation, antibiotics, and other supportive management. Necessary investigations have been done and the reports are awaited," the official added.
Both his wife Mira Bhattacharya and daughter Suchetana Bhattacharya both are in the hospital.
Bhattacharya has been away from public life for the past few years due to his ailing health.
He had stepped down from the CPI(M)'s politburo and the central committee in 2015 and gave up membership in the state secretariat in 2018.
Bengal Governor Dr CV Ananda Bose paid a visit to the hospital soon after Bhattacharya was admitted there.
He spoke to the doctors and Bhattacharya's wife and daughter to understand former Bengal CM's health condition.
While speaking to the reporters, Bose expressed his concern over Bhattacharya's health and prayed for his speedy recovery.
"I am deeply concerned and pained to hear that Buddadebji has been hospitalised. But I am very sure that he will recover fast. We are praying for that. He is a leader who has led the state for a long time. We all respect him," Bose said.
