The notice asked why a criminal complaint should not be made against the hospital. (Representative)
Ahmedabad:
Two days after the death of a 73-year-old patient, COVID-19, who was allegedly delayed due to his late admission to a private hospital in Ahmedabad and his placing on a ventilator, the civic body published a justification notice on Sunday for “gross negligence”. .
As advised by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), the patient was forced to wait at the door (apparently in an ambulance) of the Rajasthan hospital for approximately 20 minutes on June 18, staff members having taken the time to open it. They also allegedly took an additional 10 to 15 minutes to bring the stretcher.
The patient, who was in critical condition, was rushed to the Rajasthan hospital from another private facility because he needed a ventilator, the notice said.
The Rajasthan hospital authorities confirmed the availability of the ventilator in advance, according to the advisory.
The opinion asked why a criminal complaint should not be made under section 188 and other relevant articles of the Indian Penal Code against the hospital or legal proceedings should be initiated.
He also asked why a heavy sentence would not be imposed or the cancellation of the hospital’s “C” form for “gross negligence”.
The AMC requisitioned 50% of the total beds available in 52 private hospitals in Ahmedabad for the treatment of patients with coronavirus, including the Rajasthan hospital where 23 beds are allocated to patients with coronavirus, according to the press release.
Meanwhile, despite repeated attempts, the hospital could not be reached for comment.
The CMA said the patient had to wait about 20 minutes at the hospital door because the staff had taken the time to open it.
After the door was finally opened, staff took an additional 10 to 15 minutes to bring the stretcher, which is evident from the incident report and the CCTV footage, he said, adding that this “serious fault” had resulted in the death of the patient.
The CMA said that the hospital authorities had also responded “casually and very irresponsibly” to the process of its requisition by the civic body.
According to the AMC, 786 of the 1,025 beds in 52 private hospitals are currently occupied, including 57 of the 75 intensive care units equipped with ventilators.
So far, the city of Ahmedabad has reported 17,873 cases positive for the coronavirus, according to the COVID bulletin published on Sunday afternoon. The cumulative number of deaths is 1,282.
There are 3,561 active cases in the city.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
