VIJAYAWADA: Deputy Chief Minister (Health) Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas on Sunday ordered an inquiry into the death of a Covid patient at Ashram Hospital in Eluru of West Godavari district, allegedly due to the negligence of hospital authorities. A 45-year-old patient from Kummar Revu area of Eluru town was admitted to the hospital with severe Covid. He was under treatment in the ICU ward and was put on a ventilator for the past 25 days.
He died on Saturday late night and his wife alleged that he died as there was no oxygen supply and the ventilator machine was not functioning. She held negligence responsible for her husband’s death. “On May 25, I admitted my husband to Ashram Hospital, as he tested positive. It has been a month and every day doctors said he is recovering and there is no need to worry. Today morning, when I brought tiffin for him, the ventilator was not functioning and I alerted doctors and nodal officers, but there was no response. Nurses even scolded me for making a ruckus. However, later they told me my husband died,” she said.
According to her, there were two more deaths in the same ICU ward and she was told that patients were hurriedly shifted to the cardiology ICU ward. “You can verify it on CCTV footage to get the facts right,’’ she said. Stating that with her husband’s death she and her two children are pushed into dire straits. After learning about the incident, Deputy CM Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas called the hospital in-charge superintendent (Covid-19) of Ashram Hospital Dr Ravi Kumar, DMHO Dr Sunanda and enquired about the incident. Directing the district health officials for a thorough inquiry, he warned of serious action, if the allegations of doctors’ negligence were proved.
When contacted by TNIE, Dr Ravi Kumar said the patient was on a ventilator for the past 25 days as his condition was serious. On Sunday, there was a problem with the ventilator and it was replaced with another one. “Oxygen saturation levels were 80 per cent both before and after the replacement of the ventilator. He died two hours after the change of ventilator,” he said.