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Ex-hazoori ragi’s last talk with kin puts his treatment at Amritsar GMC under a cloud
‘I am not being given proper treatment, medicines’, Khalsa tells son hours before death, in the last call recording that made rounds on the social media on Saturday
An audio clip of former Golden Temple ‘hazoori ragi’ (traditional Gurbani singer) Nirmal Singh Khalsa’s last phone talk with family members alleging lack of proper medical care for Covid-19 patients, which went viral on social media on Saturday, has evoked sharp political reactions, including demands for an apology from the chief minister.
In the audio, Nirmal Singh can be heard complaining of lack of proper treatment at Amritsar’s Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, which is a part of Government Medical College, and urging his family members to shift him to some other hospital.
After developing Covid-19 symptoms, Nirmal Singh was admitted to the hospital on March 30 and he tested positive for the virus on April 1. He breathed his last at 4.30am the next day.
In the audio clip of his last conversation, Nirmal Singh is poignantly telling his family that doctors were not giving him medicines and that he will rather commit suicide. His family members, especially his son named Amiteshwar Singh, is heard giving pep talk and even saying ‘I love you, daddy’, in a voice crackling with emotions.
While confirming the authenticity of the touchy audio clip that has brought the arrangements to treat Covid-19 patients in the state under a cloud, his son said, “Poor arrangements were responsible for my father’s death. We kept on raising our concern before the authorities of the Government Medical College and they kept assuring us that my father will recover.”
“I would like to raise another question that why have not any of my other family members, except my sister, diagnosed with Covid-19. My wife, my son, my mother, my grandmother and grandfather, who is 95, have tested negative despite the fact that we lived together. Doctors are not yet clear on my sister’s status and they will conduct a confirmatory test,” he said.
He said the conditions at the hospital were unhygienic. “There was a great rush at the hospital and fungus could be seen on the beds for patients. I feel, he contracted the virus at the hospital. Negligence and poor medical arrangements killed my father not Covid-19,” he said.
Notably, Nirmal Singh was asthmatic. One-and-half hour after the phone call, special chief secretary of Punjab Karanbir Singh Sidhu had shared on social media that “Bhai Nirmal Singh has been put on ventilator a few hours back in the hospital. His risk factor increased due to his bronchial asthama”.
Amritsar civil surgeon Dr Prabhdeep Kaur Johal said she could not comment on the matter as the college didn’t come under her jurisdiction. GMC principal Dr Sujata Sharma, and medical superintendent of the hospital Dr Raman Sharma did not take the phone call despite repeated attempts.
Meanwhile, Sikh activist Baldev Singh Sirsa lodged a complaint with Amritsar commissioner of police Sukhchain Singh Gill, seeking action against the alleged “negligence shown by the doctors of GMC that led to the death of Khalsa”. He also alleged that doctors of SGPC-run Guru Ram Das Medical College were also to be blamed as Khalsa was initially admitted there.
Khalsa was given VIP treatment in special room: OP Soni
Minister for medical education and research OP Soni said, “After Bhai Nirmal Singh Khalsa tested positive for coronavirus, he was treated in a separate room and not the isolation ward. He was given VIP treatment. He was given a dose of the medicine and next dose was to be given after four hours. However, Khalsa lost heart after coming to know that he was positive for the virus and that deteriorated his health.”
He said that after the audio clip started circulating, he met college principal, doctors on duty and medical superintendent of the hospital to inquire into the matter in the presence of Amritsar deputy commissioner Shivdular Singh Dhillon.
