PIL filed in Orissa high court over mismanagement in Covid hospitals

The petitioner has requested a court-monitored probe into the incidents of neglect and demanded action against the hospital authorities and other officials responsible

Published on: Jun 22, 2021, 12:03:38 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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A public interest litigation has been filed at the Orissa high court, demanding a court-monitored probe into alleged gross mismanagement and negligence in the treatment of patients in Covid hospitals and denial of dignity to people who died of the disease during cremation.

Highlighting an incident at a Covid hospital in Baripada where patients, including a woman, were seen lying naked on the floor of a washroom and bed, advocate Bibhuti Bhusan Choudhury requested the high court to direct the state government to install CCTV cameras in all Covid hospitals. Choudhury also drew the attention of the high court to the cremation of multiple Covid victims in a single pyre at a cremation ground in Bolangir district.

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“The way Covid hospitals are exploiting the patients is really unfortunate and condemnable,” said the petitioner.

Choudhury urged the high court for a court-monitored probe into these incidents and demanded action against the hospital authorities and other officials responsible. “These incidents should be probed under the supervision of the high court and stringent action should be taken against officials responsible. Moreover, CCTV cameras should be installed in all Covid centres so that the patients’ relatives can see how their near and dear ones are being treated,” he added.

The state chief secretary, health secretary and collectors of Mayurbhanj and Bolangir have been made respondents in the petition.

Gouranga Mohapatra, state convenor of Jana Swasthya Abhiyan, a health NGO in Odisha, said that during the second wave, there has been gross mismanagement in Covid hospitals of the state. “First of all, there are not enough doctors to treat Covid patients in the state. The Covid-designated private hospitals, though funded by the state government, have not been up to the mark. The government just kept on issuing new guidelines and SOPs without ensuring strict observance. This led to a rise in number of deaths,” said Mohapatra.

Mayurbhanj district collector Vineet Bhardwaj, who, along with other officials and a team of doctors, visited the hospital after the incident, said Covid hospitals in the district are running smoothly and the complaints of the patients and attendants have been redressed. “Such incidents should not be generalised. We are making efforts to install CCTVs in hospitals to monitor the activities and fill the gaps,” said the district collector.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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