Dr. Vishika Shinde and three staff nurses Sapna Pathare, Asma Sheikh and Chhana Anant were arrested by the Ahmednagar police under sections 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 304-A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC for negligence in connection with the fire in the ICU of the Ahmednagar civil hospital which killed 11 Covid patients on November 6.

The state government suspended the district civil surgeon Dr Sunil Pokharna, medical officer, Dr Suresh Dakhe, Dr. Vishika Shinde and Nurse Sapna Pathare on Monday and terminated the services of Sheikh and Anant.

The police investigation carried out based on the CCTV footages in the ICU, showed that Dr Shinde was absent throughout her duty schedule from 9 am onwards at the ICU.  All the four reached the site 10 minutes after the fire broke out. Timely detection of fire could have saved more life.

Nurses at the civil hospital and Maharashtra nurses’ association protested against the action against their three colleagues saying that they helped in taking patients out from the ICU.

Source: ET Healthworld