The Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) had declared a COVID patient dead in a major goof-up and they handed over the body with the death certificate to his relatives on Sunday. When the wife of the man who was admitted in the Covid ward bribed someone at the Bansghat crematorium to have her husband’s last glimpse, she was shocked to find that he was not her husband’ but someone else’s body. She went back immediately to the PMCH and found her husband alive over there.

When it was brought to the PMCH administration’s notice, superintendent Dr IS Thakur terminated health manager Anjali Kumari from service for handing over the body of a COVID deceased to another patient’s family who is still undergoing treatment.

An inquiry would be followed to determine whether other officials, doctors or staff were responsible for this incident. The body was then brought back from Bansghat to PMCH.

Patna DM Dr Chandrasekhar Singh had asked the PMCH superintendent and principal to find the guilty staff within 24 hours and take strict action against them. He also instructed the PMCH authorities to ensure that there will be no repetition of such incidents in the future.

Dr Thakur said that when the patient’s wife came back to the PMCH and reported the incident, the gross negligence of the health manager was confirmed as she was mainly responsible for completing all the formalities after a COVID patient’s death. The man was admitted with some serious health problems and was tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, hence was admitted to the COVID ward and is still undergoing treatment.

Source: ET Healthworld