NIZAMABAD: The Government General Hospital in Nizamabad (GGH) landed in controversy on Saturday after reports emerged that a Covid-19 patient’s body was taken to a burial ground in an auto-rickshaw.
The hospital has over 500 beds and several departments. Officials had declared that 200 beds were available and that the hospital would deal with Covid cases exclusively. But due to administrative reasons, GGH has only one operational ambulance.
A while ago, an NGO had come forward to provide ambulances for the hospital, but the plan did not materialise. After the number of bodies increased at the hospital, the officials started to face problems in transporting the bodies to burial sites.
According to the officials, patients should come to the hospital themselves. A few days ago, three people had succumbed to Covid-19 in the hospital and the administration had arranged two ambulances to transport the bodies.
As the third person’s immediate family failed to turn up, the body was handed over to a relative, without any ambulance or handler, for the final rites. This was against the Covid-19 burial protocol.
Collector pitches in
Meanwhile, Nizamabad Collector C Narayana Reddy said he had provided Rs 30 lakh for contingency expenditure but the GGH officials did not use the fund for hiring ambulances. Speaking to Express, Reddy said from Tuesday, they would increase the number of Covid tests in GGH. “Over 2,500 Rapid Test Kits have reached the GGH and the lab facilities have been improved. As of now, every day 50 tests are being done at the hospital. From Tuesday, it will be increased to 300,” he said.