Second death at Villupuram hospital causes outrage
VILLUPURAM: A day after the health department banned a private hospital on Marakanam Road in Tindivanam from admitting new Covid-19 patients, a man who had been admitted there earlier for Covid-19 died on Wednesday. The 42-year-old resident of Veerankulam was under treatment for two weeks.
Soon after his death, his relatives laid seige to the hospital as a mark of protest. They also tried to blockade a road, which police personnel from the Tindivanam station foiled. The protest before the hospital was withdrawn after police officials held a talk with them and convinced them to lodge a complaint with the police instead of continuing with the protest.
The background
A few days ago, the relatives of a doctor, who died due to Covid-19 at the hospital, expressed suspicion about the quality of Remdesivir injection given to him during the treatment. Following this, officials from the health department inspected the hospital on Tuesday.
During the inspection, they reportedly found that the hospital did not properly maintain treatment records of the patients. They also found a mismatch in the number of Remdesivir injections recorded and present at the hospital--there were several additional vials.
Following an inquiry with the doctors there, the department imposed a fine of `1 lakh on the hospital and forbade it from admitting new Covid-19 patients. They also lifted samples of medicines, including Remdesivir, kept at the hospital.
Meanwhile, the Tindivanam police registered a case based on a complaint from the relatives of the deceased doctor and questioned the doctors of the hospital. On Wednesday, they took a doctor from the government Tindivanam hospital, who also worked at the private hospital, for inquiry. It is learnt that the doctor reportedly told the police that he got Remdesivir injections from another doctor. Further investigation by police is underway.