Ghaziabad: Critical patient beaten up by district hospital staff, dies an hour later

The incident came to light on Wednesday after a local mediaperson shot a video of the ward boy beating up the patient on Tuesday evening and put it online.

In a case of insensitivity towards poor patients admitted to the government hospital in Ghaziabad, a ward boy allegedly beat up a 45-year-old destitute patient. The man, who was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition after he was found near the main entrance of MMG district hospital on Tuesday evening, died within an hour of the assault.

The man was admitted in a critical condition after he was found near the main entrance of MMG district hospital on Tuesday evening. (HT Photo)

The incident came to light on Wednesday after a local mediaperson shot a video of the ward boy beating up the patient on Tuesday evening and put it online.

The video was shot on a mobile phone through the window of the ward. The information of the incident was later flashed to district health officials who found that the ward boy was a contractual employee and they immediately sacked him.

“The elderly man was found in a critical state near the main door of the hospital. He was later rushed to the emergency from where he was shifted to the ward. The patient was already critical and suffered ailments, including septicaemia, and died an hour after he was allegedly roughed up by the staff,” said Dr JK Tyagi, chief medical officer, MMG district hospital.

The district hospital is the oldest government hospital in Ghaziabad and is visited by thousands of patients on a daily basis.

Dr Tyagi said the regular ward staff member was on leave on Tuesday and the contractual staff member, identified as Rakesh, was on duty in the emergency and came with the patient to the ward.

The district hospital is the oldest government hospital in Ghaziabad and is visited by thousands of patients on a daily basis. (HT Photo)

“He was later found beating up the patient who was already critical. He was removed from duty after the incident. An hour later, around 8pm, the patient died due to his ailment. It was not a result of the staff beating him,” Dr Tyagi added.

The video shows that the ward boy was changing the clothes of the patient and started slapping him, probably because the patient was not cooperating.

“We have asked the hospital authorities to take up corrective measures at the earliest. The CMS conveyed to me that the ward boy was a contractual staff and was removed from duties with immediate effect,” said Dr NK Gupta, chief medical officer.