ROURKELA: Death of a 32-year-old woman from Covid-19 on Sunday morning has once again stirred issues of availability of critical care with family alleging that she succumbed after failing to get ventilator support and necessary medicines.
Family sources said, the woman was admitted to the RSP-run Ispat General Hospital (IGH) on April 8 after developing breathing complications. Her chest X-Ray showed she had pneumonia. The next day, her Covid-19 test report came positive and despite her condition gradually worsening, she was treated in the general ward as no ventilator support was allegedly available at IGH or rest of the hospitals in Rourkela having Covid-19 treatment facilities.
Patient’s brother Ramiz Raja said she could have survived with critical care but that was not available. “The IGH authorities told us that the hospital had only three old ventilator equipped beds and those were occupied. As my sister’s condition worsened, we talked to the authorities of Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) on Saturday and even approached the privately-run JP and Shanti Memorial Hospitals but were told that all ventilator beds were occupied,” he alleged.
Raja further claimed that they checked all private and government stores for the medicines prescribed at the IGH but Fabiflu 400 mg tablets and Remdesivir injection were not available. Compared to last year’s Covid preparedness, the administration was caught napping when the second wave gripped the city this time, he said and appealed to the Sundargarh administration to ensure that no patient is deprived of Covid treatment.
Contacted, Sundargarh Collector Nikhil Pawan Kalyan said he cannot comment for IGH, “We have sufficient supply of medicines and ventilators at our Covid-19 Hospitals. The Covid-19 audit committee will have to decide whether it is a coronavirus death or not,” he added. When pointed out that the victim’s family also tried for admission at government-run Covid-19 hospitals, the Collector asserted that the administration has “adequate supplies.” Meanwhile, 317 new Covid-19 cases were reported in Sundargarh on the day, taking the tally to 17,733 of which 1,558 are active. The district has less than 180 hospital beds for critical and mild Covid patients.