E-Paper
Newly-married Odisha woman succumbs to Covid after hospitals refuse admission
Odisha’s director of health services has ordered an inquiry to find out how the system failed the victim.
A newly-married, Covid-19 infected woman in Odisha died in capital Bhubaneswar following an eight hour long ordeal on Saturday, during which one hospital after another refused to treat her. The state government has now ordered a probe into any possible lapses.
25-years old Swarnalata Pal married Bishnu Charan Bhol of Indolakusiari village of Khordha district on April 28. Early this week she complained of fever followed by a rapid deterioration in her condition in the next few days.
On Saturday morning she felt breathless as her oxygen level plummeted to 54%, said her family. She was then taken to the Balipatna Community Health Centre, where the doctor referred her to the Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar.
Pal’s brother-in-law, Niranjan Bhol, said when they reached Capital Hospital, the doctors there referred her to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, 25 km away. “But we chose not to take her to Cuttack as her condition was deteriorating every minute. So we went to AIIMS Bhubaneswar instead. But the hospital refused admission without a Covid test report. We then went to another private hospital in the city which again refused us due to absence of Covid test report,” said Bhol.
With time running out, the woman’s in-laws then took her to private hospitals before finally bringing her back to the community health centre, where the doctor gave her an injection in the ambulance before again referring her to Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar.
When her in-laws pressurised the doctor to treat her there, a team of policemen reached the spot and asked them to shift the woman to Capital Hospital.
“When we returned to Capital Hospital in the afternoon on May 15, she was almost breathless. She was tested for Covid-19 there and her result came out positive. She died an hour later,” said Bhol.
He said the ambulance driver charged them ₹25,000 for transporting the patient from one hospital to another.
Director of health services, Bijay Mohapatra said an inquiry has been ordered to find out how the system failed the victim. “We have sought all details from the community health centre,” he said.
AIIMS Bhubaneswar medical superintendent Sachidananda Mohanty and director of Capital Hospital Laxmidhar Sahoo refused to comment, claiming they were still ascertaining the details of the case.
In another incident, a youth from Kendrapara district, who got married only five days ago, reportedly succumbed to Covid. Sanjay Kumar Nayak of Durgadebipada village under Rajkanika block in Kendrapara district had returned home from Bengaluru on May 1 for his wedding on May 9.
Though the 26-year-old had tested negative for Covid-19 in Bengaluru, his health deteriorated a few days after reaching home. After marriage, he developed Covid-like symptoms and was rushed to the district headquarters hospital in Jajpur on May 13. The doctors there referred him to a hospital in Bhubaneswar. However, Nayak died on the way.
Meanwhile, the Ganjam district administration on Sunday made Rapid Antigen Tests mandatory for bride, groom and their family members before any wedding. “Permission for wedding will not be granted by the district administration if any family member or bride/groom tests positive for Covid-19,” said Vijay Amruta Kulange, the district collector. As per the direction of the Odisha government, wedding ceremonies are being carried out in the state with 50 participants, including bride and groom.
