E-Paper
FIR against Maharaja Agrasen for negligence after patient dies of Covid
Coronavirus in Delhi: According to police, the hospital had referred a 72-year-old woman to Sri Ganga Ram hospital on March 10. There, when she presented with inflammation of the lungs, doctors tested her for Covid-19.
The Delhi Police on Thursday registered a case against Maharaja Agrasen hospital in west Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh for alleged negligence after two patients, one of who later died, and six staff members tested positive for Covid-19. The hospital, however, denied any wrongdoing.
The Delhi government also ordered the hospital to shut its out patient clinics. The hospital claims it had done so from March 20 itself.
According to police, the hospital had referred a 72-year-old woman to Sri Ganga Ram hospital on March 10. There, when she presented with inflammation of the lungs, doctors tested her for Covid-19. Her results came back positive. Over 100 staff of the hospital were asked to be in quarantine.
The government then ordered that all patients and 82 employees at Maharaja Agrasen hospital who had been in the vicinity of the woman be tested.
Deputy commissioner of police (West) [DCP] Deepak Purohit said six staff members and another patient were found positive. “When the patient died at the hospital on April 4, the hospital handed over the body to the family without alerting the government and violated the dead body management rules,” said the DCP.
The cremation was subsequently attended by many people and the patient’s brother turned out to be positive later.
The police registered a case under the Indian Penal Code, the Endemic Act and the Disaster Management Act.
“We were the first private hospital in the city to shut the clinics in March to maintain social distancing. We had also stopped the elective surgeries as per government directions. So, right now we take in only emergency cases and there are very few patients in the hospital,” said Dr Deepak Singla, medical director of the hospital. “We took all steps suggested by the government. The entire hospital has been sanitised.”
He said that both patients had been admitted to the hospital around March 10, much before the infection was widespread. “We had not tested them for the infection as neither they nor their family members had any history of travel. Later on, they tested positive for the infection,” he said, adding the 72-year-old went to Sri Ganga Ram hospital against medical advice. “When the second patient tested positive, we immediately informed authorities and were trying to coordinate his moving to a government hospital. However, no ventilator beds were immediately available. And, by morning he died. We followed protocols, and gave the body the relatives after explaining about Covid-19. They assured us they would take the body to the nearest crematorium, but took it to Sonipat.”
