Hyderabad: In a shocking incident of medical negligence in Hyderabad, a 77-year old a suspected COVID-19 patient, a migrant worker, was found dead on the roadside with his body unattended for over twelve hours on Friday. The police had to wrap his body in plastic sheets and wait for a team of health workers, who arrived only the next morning.
The police have recovered COVID-19 test slips in the deceased’s pockets and have identified him as Sher Bahadur from Nepal, who was working at a bar in Lalapet area in Hyderabad. His body was found near YMCA X road, Narayanguda, on Friday night.
The man had reportedly reached out to a Primary Health Care Centre (PHC) in Lalapet area on Thursday afternoon after he experienced cold and fever. Suspecting that he could have contracted coronavirus, the medical officer referred him to a Government Hospital in King Koti and was sent there in an ambulance.
At the Out-Patient ward, Bahadur’s medical condition was checked and he was then referred to Gandhi Hospital, the only complete COVID-19 hospital in the State. However, before an ambulance could be arranged for him, he walked out of the hospital.
“We don’t exactly know why he stepped out. He was asked to wait outside and the hospital had to arrange for an ambulance. The King Koti hospital has hundreds of patients in the Out-Patient Department, so there must have been a delay. Maybe he decided to walk four kilometers to reach Gandhi Hospital,” Narayanguda Inspector Karnaker Reddy told News18.
What’s worse is that the hospital had no clue that a COVID-19 suspect left the premises without their knowledge. The hospital didn’t check back or realise that a COVID-19 suspect, who had to be sent to the main hospital, is missing.
“We checked with the hospital, but they had no clue when he left. They didn’t even realise that a patient was gone until we told them a day after,” the Inspector said.
Few hours later, his body was found roadside and locals alerted the cops.
Meanwhile, the police said that they struggled to reach out to the COVID-19 team to take care of the body.
According to the police, the helpline numbers 104 and 108 were not helpful and repeated calls made to the local Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation made no difference.
“Two of our constables had to guard the plastic-wrapped body the whole night. We made sure both the cops maintained a 100 meters distance from the body,” Reddy said.
The COVID-19 team arrived the next morning and the body was taken to Gandhi. The deceased’s samples were collected on Saturday.
“We don’t know how many hours he was on the road, where he wandered and if he had reached out to someone for help. Based on few CCTV footage, we could identify him in certain locations,” the Inspector said.
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