BURDWAN: An elderly COVID-19 patient was killed after fire broke out at the Burdwan Medical College and Hospital in West Bengal on Saturday morning, officials said.
They said that the deceased, Sandhya Mondal (60), was admitted to a COVID ward of the hospital, where the blaze erupted around 4:30 am. "Other patients in the ward were safely moved to another wing," hospital sources said.
Hospital authorities doused the blaze before fire brigade personnel arrived, the sources said. A relative of Mondal claimed that she had called for help when the fire broke out all of a sudden, but nobody came to her rescue.
A five-member team has been constituted to investigate the cause of the fire, Hospital Superintendent Tapas Kumar Ghosh said. Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in West Bengal assembly Suvendu Adhikari alleged that hospitals in the state have turned into a death trap for patients, and demanded a thorough inquiry into the incident.
"WB Health Minister's apathy towards the safety and wellbeing of the patients admitted in Govt Hospitals is evident from the fact that incidents of fire emergency have become a common occurrence. The Hospitals as if 'House of Lac' have become death trap for the unfortunate patients (sic)," the Nandigram MLA tweeted.
He also demanded a compensation of Rs 50 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased.
Reacting to Adhikari's remarks, Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy said the state government has provided improved healthcare to people, which was lacking during the tenure of previous governments in the state.
"BJP should explain what happened in Covid hospitals in states ruled by it. The Burdwan incident is unfortunate, but the saffron party should not politicise it," Roy added.