Family search for ‘missing’ Covid patient; find him only after his death

The family of a 50-year-old Covid-positive man was made to run from pillar to post for two days as they could not trace the patient in any of the hospitals where

The family of a 50-year-old Covid-positive man was made to run from pillar to post for two days as they could not trace the patient in any of the hospitals where the Thane civic authorities claimed he was admitted. On Friday morning, the family received a call that the patient had died.

HT Image

On June 13, the patient, a resident of Chirag Nagar, was admitted to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa after testing positive for Covid-19. However, when a relative of his reached the hospital on June 17 to enquire about his health, he was told that the patient has been shifted.

The victim’s 48-year-old cousin said, “Initially, my brother, who is diabetic, did not have any symptoms. However, two days after being admitted, we were told that his condition had started deteriorating and he had been shifted to a private hospital. I went to the said hospital in Mumbra but could not locate my brother. The next day I again went to the Kalwa hospital where they gave me the same information but shared the contact number for Thane Civil Hospital. By Thursday night I came to know that my brother was shifted to Thane Civil Hospital, however, the next morning I was informed that he had died.”

Till the time of going to press, the family was not informed about the cremation of the deceased.

Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) officials said they had no knowledge of the incident. “We have alerted hospitals to be cautious and will enquire into this incident,” said Vishwanath Kelkar, health officer, TMC.

MLC Niranjan Davkhare from the BJP has demanded an inquiry. “A proper inquiry should be done as this is not the first time that the negligence of hospitals has come to light,” he said.