In a shocking breach of Covid safety protocol and basic human rights, a Coronavirus victim’s body was left on the pavement outside a hospital on Monday night, with the patient’s family clueless about it. All they knew was that an ambulance had taken him away to a Covid designated hospital.
“My father’s body remained on the street for at least an hour. They simply dumped him in the open. No one, not even animals, deserves such treatment,” said the victim’s son.
A magistrate has been asked to inquire into the case involving a power distribution company employee who was admitted to hospital two weeks ago with a kidney condition. In the last few days, he had developed breathing trouble and was suspected to have pneumonia. He tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday evening.
Ajay Goenka, Director of Chirayu Hospital, said doctors from People’s hospital had called and asked for an ambulance, stating they had a patient whose kidneys had failed, who had a dialysis and was also suffering from some heart diseases, but “he is stable”.
“So we decided to send one ambulance with oxygen support. The driver picked up the patient and when he reached near VIP road he felt his condition is deteriorating and he is critical. He realized because of the traffic it will take around 45 minutes to reach Chirayu Hospital, so after talking to the doctors at People’s hospital, he turned back midway,” Mr Goenka said.
“A CPR and other interventions were conducted by People’s Hospital. Our ventilator-equipped ambulance reached after 20-25 minutes but by the time he had collapsed. We took him to our mortuary, there was no lapse I don’t why authorities from People’s hospital creating a fuss about the driver coming back,” he remarked.
Bhopal Collector Avinash Lavania has sought an explanation from People’s hospital. “How can you refer a patient to another hospital without stabilizing his condition? Moreover, he was admitted there since 23rd, so what protocol did they follow to ensure he doesn’t get Corona infected? How can somebody who is admitted to a hospital for more than a week suddenly become corona positive? His symptoms would have shown if his situation became so bad,” the officer told media.
