Covid leaves other patients in the lurch

Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, May 14

While surge in Covid cases has left the health infrastructure overburdened, it has left the non-Covid emergency patients in lurch.

In a tragic incident, three patients reportedly died on the premises of government hospitals waiting to be attended. While two deaths were reported from the Civil Hospital, Gurugram, another patient died at Sohna.

In the first case, 10-year-old Radhika of New Colony was rushed to the Civil Hospital emergency after she fell from the roof of her house.

The family alleged that doctors did not even inspect her and referred her to Safdarjung Hospital. The family begged for an ambulance, but didn't get one and the girl succumbed to her injuries on the hospital premises.

"They just wrote a referral and asked us to leave. She lay there while I begged all ambulance drivers there and even made calls for ambulances, but got none and she died there," said her father.

Similarly, a family member of TB patient from Ashok Vihar, Anil, alleged that they were made to run from one room to another in the hospital for a check-up, but nobody attended him and he died on a wheel chair.

"They sent us from one room to another, saying go to staff and get yourself checked. He died in front of us," said the patient's wife. Another death has been reported from Sohna, where one Ratan Singh was allegedly admitted to the hospital, but was not attended and family was allegedly asked to take him to a bigger private hospital. They got him home and by the time they could arrange the money he had died.

These are not lone cases, but several cases of non-Covid patients dying in ambulances and stretchers outside top private hospitals after not being let in are being reported.

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