Caught on cam: COVID-19 patient's body dumped outside Bhopal hospital
According to a report coronavirus patient's body was left on the pavement outside a hospital in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. This entire incident was captured in the CCTV camera installed in the parking lot. On Monday night CCTV footage was leaked in which an ambulance carrying two workers in PPE suits were pulling the body out in a stretcher, leaving the patient's body on the pavement floor and were seen driving off with the stretcher.
Reportedly, a 'judge' has been asked to inquire into the case involving a power distribution company employee who was admitted to hospital two weeks ago with kidney issues. In the last few days, the person had developed a breathing problems. Thereafter, he had tested positive for Covid-19 on Monday evening and died on Monday night.
According to the deceased's son, the man was treated at the People's Hospital in Bhopal but, when his corona report came positive he was moved to Chirayu Hospital, Bhopal's nodal center for the virus.
Since January, the man had not been well and was admitted to People's hospital on June 23.
The patient's son insists he was alive on Monday morning when an ambulance picked him up to be taken from People's hospital to Chirayu Medical College. He questioned why the ambulance returned.
"I do not know what happened in the ambulance but why did the district administration have to shift him to Chirayu and send the ambulance if they were to dump him on the road like this? Both the hospitals are at fault...they never informed us," the young man told the source.
Manager Uday Shankar Dixit from People's Hospital has said: "As per protocol and IDSP (Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme) instructions, an ambulance from Chirayu Medical College reached, but after an hour-40 minute they informed us that they were coming back. But by then we had sealed the ICU and started the process of fumigation of the hospital as per protocol, and while the process was still on, the ambulance returned."
Waiting with the body, the ambulance staff apparently asked for a stretcher from the hospital but did not get one. "But when we resisted they dumped his body on the road outside the hospital. So after that, I requested our staffers to wear a PPE kit, used our stretcher, and tried to revive him but he was not breathing," Mr. Dixit said.
Director of Chirayu Hospital, Ajay Goenka, said doctors from People's hospital had called and asked for an ambulance, stating they had a patient whose kidneys had failed, who had dialysis and was also suffering from some heart diseases, but "he is stable".
As Mr. Goenka said: "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."
How can you refer a patient to another hospital without knowing his current condition? Bhopal Collector Avinash Lavonia has sought an explanation from People's hospital.
Additionally, the patient was admitted there since the 23rd of July than what protocol did People's hospital follow to ensure he doesn't get corona infected? He also raised a question, 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 the source.
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