Ludhiana man succumbs to Covid-19 in absence of ventilator at Civil Hospital

Senior medical officer at Civil Hospital Amarjeet Kaur said that the patient arrived at the hospital in a critical condition

The acute shortage of ventilators in city hospitals for the treatment of coronavirus patients has led to the death of a Covid-19 patient on Tuesday.

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Joginderpal, 54, died on Tuesday afternoon in absence of ventilator facility at the Civil Hospital.

The four ventilators that were installed at Civil Hospital are currently being managed by Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMC&H) to treat Covid-19 patients.

The victim’s son Vishal accused the hospital authorities of his father’s death.

A resident of Dholewal area, Vishal said that on Monday evening the condition of his father, who had contracted Covid-19 deteriorated. “As my father developed flu-like symptoms, the private hospitals refused to admit him citing unavailability of beds. We took him to the Civil Hospital where he was left unattended. He was later tested positive for coronavirus and was kept on oxygen support. Due to no ventilator bed available at the hospital, my father died on Tuesday,” said Vishal.

However, senior medical officer (SMO) at Civil Hospital Amarjeet Kaur said that the patient arrived at the hospital in a critical condition.

“The patient arrived at the hospital at 4.30 am and soon the staff tried to stabilize him. As the ventilator was not available at the Civil Hospital, we contacted the authorities of Government Rajindra Medical College in Patiala. We tried shifting two patients on Advanced Life Support (ALS), but their relatives objected. Meanwhile, the patient had died. We have been urging people to admit patients at an early stage when they show signs of flu-like symptoms. But sadly the patients arrive at a very late stage,” Dr Amarjeet Kaur.

On Tuesday, deputy commissioner Varinder Sharma set-up a help desk at DMC&H so that patients with level-1 ailment could be referred to isolation facilities, and ICU facilities could be reserved for critically ill patients.

Recently, MP Ravneet Singh Bittu had demanded level-3 facilities at Ludhiana Civil Hospital.