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Suspected Covid-19 patient made to run from pillar to post in Ludhiana, probe launched
Medical superintendent Anil Luther said there were no beds available.
In a case reminiscent of the district’s first coronavirus disease (Covis-19) casualty, another suspected patient was allegedly denied admission to Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMC&H) on April 5 and made to run from piller to post for treatment. A probe was initiated in the matter on Friday.
The 35-year-old suspected Covid-19 positive woman was suffering from renal failure. The patient, who stays in the Durgi area, was first taken to the Civil Hospital on March 30 for dialyses.
A health department official, on condition of anonymity, said, “The woman had been referred to Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, for dialysis but as she could not travel amid the lockdown, the patient sought treatment at a private hospital in Model Town on April 3.”
“Soon after, her condition began to deteriorate and she developed a fever and dry cough. She was rushed to the Civil Hospital for treatment on April 5. However, the doctors referred her to CMC&H as they suspected of having Covid-19,” the official said.
The patient said that instead of admitting her to the hospital, CMC&H authorities sent her back home.
On April 8, her condition worsened and she was rushed to the hospital in Model Town where hospital authorities after reading the referral slip of the civil hospital, which mentioned that she was suspected of having Covid-19, raised the alarm.
Thereafter, a social activist reached out to the woman and got her admitted to the Civil Hospital.
When deputy commissioner Pardeep Agrawal heard of the patient’s ordeal on Thursday, he directed thecivil surgeon to submit a report in the matter.
Civil surgeon Dr Rajesh Bagga initiated an inquiry into the matter on Friday and asked Dr Baldeep Singh, a medical officer at the Covid-19 unit of the civil hospital, about the incident. The reports of the suspected patient are still awaited.
Medical superintendent Anil Luther said the woman had not been denied admission. “We have 14 beds, including seven ventilator beds, dedicated to those suspected of Covid-19 and all of them were occupied. The patient and relatives were apprised of the issue and as per protocol were further referred to another tertiary care hospital for treatment,” said Dr Luther.
History repeats itself
The first patient in the city to die due to Covid-19 was also referred from one hospital to another until she finally breathed her last at Rajindra Hospital Patiala.
The 42-year-old, mother of three, was made to visit the Civil Hospital multiple times from March 19 to March 26. When her condition worsened, she was rushed to the Civil Hospital on March 29, from where she was referred to CMC&H, and later ESI Hospital. Ultimately, she was again admitted to the Civil Hospital from where she was rushed to Rajindra hospital, Patiala, at midnight where she succumbed to the infection in the small hours of March 30.
