COVID-19 patient’s body thrown outside the hospital: Bhopal

Bhopal: A body of a coronavirus patient was left outside a hospital in Bhopal. The incident was recorded in a CCTV camera, on Monday after a tragic to-and-fro between hospitals.

The NDTV team accessed the footage which shows two ambulance workers in their PPE suits took the body out on a stretcher and leaving the patient outside the hospital’s pavement and left with the stretcher.

The patient was said to be a 59 year old Wajid Ali, a power distribution company employee who was admitted in a hospital two weeks ago. He had kidney problem. A few days ago he sowed the symptoms of coronavirus. He had breathing trouble and was suspected to have pneumonia. Later, he was tested positive for coronavirus on Monday evening.

He was admitted to People’s hospital for his preliminary treatment for kidney problem on June-23. After his COVID-19 test report, he was shifted to Chirayu hospital, Bhopal’s nodal centre for coronavirus.

According to his son and the conversation with NDTV, “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.”

He questioned why the ambulance returned.

Mr. Uday Shankar Dixit, the People’s hospital manager said, “As per protocol and IDSP (Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme) instructions, an ambulance from Chirayu Medical College reached, but after an hour-40 minutes 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.”

Mr. Dixit further said, “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.”

The Director of Chirayu hospital Mr. Ajay Goenka said that the doctors from People’s hospital had called and asked for an ambulance. The doctors stated that the patient’s kidneys had failed and had dialysis and was also suffering from some heart diseases, but “he is stable.”

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.”

Mr. Goenka remarked, “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.”

Bhopal Collector Avinash Lavania has sought for a profound explanation from People’s hospital about the incidence, “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.”

All the conversations were held with NDTV team.