A COVID-19 patient at Government Chest Hospital, Hyderabad died as the doctors refused to put him on ventilator support last week. The hospital authorities have however refuted the allegations and said that the patient died as he had developed myocarditis.

In a video, the patient had shot himself at the isolation ward of the hospital before he passed away, and he was addressing his father, 35-year-old V Ravikumar. He said that doctors did not provide him with a ventilator even though he complained of breathlessness. He further said that he has been pleading to them to put him on a ventilator for the last 3 hours as he was struggling to breathe and was feeling like his heart had stopped. But the doctors are not listening and putting him on a ventilator. He added ‘Bye, daddy. Bye all, bye daddy’. Ravikumar can be seen with nasal prongs for supply of oxygen in the video.

On 24th June, Ravikumar was admitted to the hospital with fever and breathing problems. His swab samples were collected on the same day and the results were awaited. Two days later he died. The laboratory report on 27th June confirmed that he was positive coronavirus infection.

The deceased’s father said that his son was suffering from high fever on 23rd June. All the hospitals refused to give him treatment, suspecting that he was suffering from coronavirus and they demanded a test report. They visited at least 12 hospitals and no one allowed admission without a test report. Then, the next day, the family visited a private laboratory in Karkhana and over there the staff directed them to another laboratory of their branches in Moosapet as they were overloaded with test samples.

They went to several hospitals that included government hospitals like Gandhi General Hospital and Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS). Finally his son was admitted to Chest hospital on 24th June.

Dr Mahboob Khan, the superintendent of the Government Chest Hospital in Erragadda, said that these allegations are baseless and said that the patient died due to myocarditis. The official confirmed that the test result for COVID-19 was received after a day of his death.

Health minister Eatala Rajender responded to the media on Monday that Ravikumar was admitted in Chest Hospital as soon as he visited the hospital regardless of several other hospitals turning him away. The requirement for a ventilator is doctor decision. Ravikumar was given an oxygen supply. He had a heart issue and his lung was not affected. He passed away due to myocarditis. He lashed out at media reports saying that one should follow the medical bulletin which is released by the government and should not depend on reports and videos that are shared on social media by unreliable persons.

Patients are allowed to use a cell phone for talking to their family members. However, they go around and take videos sending them outside. Due to such acts, patients who require care get impacted.

He repeated that the state government is prepared to handle an increase in critical cases. He said that only 600 of the 2000 COVID beds are occupied till now at Gandhi General Hospital. Gandhi General Hospital is meant for COVID treatment only and four other hospitals, i.e., the King Koti hospital, Osmania General Hospital, Government Chest Hospital, and Government Fever Hospitals are COVID designated hospitals.

Special Chief Secretary A Shanti Kumari explained that anyone suspected of COVID-19 symptoms and wants to get tested should go to King Koti hospital instead of other hospitals.

983 fresh cases were reported in the city on Sunday. Telangana’s COVID-19 total number cases reached 14,414 as of 28th June. Out of them, 9,000 cases are active and under treatment. The death tally has reached 247.

Source: The Indian Express