A 38-year-old daily wage earner suffering from coronavirus died in Dehradun after allegedly being denied treatment by three hospitals which refused to admit him citing unavailability of ICU beds. Dehradun Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Anoop Dimri said a report on the incident has been sought from the hospitals, adding that appropriate action will be taken after the report is received.
The hospitals in question are Government Doon Medical College, Shri Mahant Indresh Hospital and Himalayan Hospital, Jollygrant on the outskirts of the city, he said. The daily wage earner was taken to a private hospital on Saharanpur road on Friday after he experienced difficulty in breathing. He tested positive for COVID-19 and was referred to the Government Doon Medical College (GDMC) as the private hospital was not a COVID facility, according to family members of the deceased.
However, GDMC refused to admit the man saying it did not have Intensive Care Units (ICU) beds. The family then took him back home, but when his condition worsened on Saturday he was taken to Himalayan Hospital, Jollygrant which also turned him away on the same grounds, the family alleged. The family then took him to Shri Mahant Indresh Hospital in Dehradun which also expressed its inability to take him in offering the same reason.
The family then approached former Congress MLA Raj Kumar who helped the man get admitted at GDMC where he succumbed soon after admission on Saturday. The former legislator said the incident has exposed the callous manner in which COVID-19 cases were being handled in the state and demanded compensation for the family of the deceased as well as stern action against the hospital authorities.
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