Alive COVID patient declared dead at Patna Medical College, Health manager faces heat

This whole incident has left the Hospital authorities embarrassed and following a visit by the Principal Health Secretary Prataya Amrit, strict action was taken against the health manager, who has been terminated from service by the superintendent Dr. IS Thakur.

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PTI has reported that hospital authorities declared a patient, a resident of Mahmadpur village in the Barh sub-division in Patna district, who was undergoing treatment for COVID-19, dead and handed over the body of another person to his brother.

PMCH issued the death certificate of the 40-years-old patient, who was admitted at the Hospital on April 3, and his relatives were informed that he had passed away on Sunday due to Covid-19.

At the crematorium, relatives insisted on viewing the face of the patient for one last time and were shocked to discover that the body handed to them was that of somebody else, reports ANI.

Upon inquiry, it was found that the patient in question was still in hospital and they had been handed over the body of another patient.

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Hindustan Times adds that the first patient was in the IJ ward, an ICU for Covid-19 patients. The hospital authorities shifted him to the adjacent AB ward to make way for a critical Covid-19 patient, from Purnia.

As the second patient got admitted early on Sunday, the authorities forgot to make the necessary changes in their medical record and this resulted in confusion. So, when the second patient died on Sunday morning, the hospital authorities thought him to be the first patient and handed over the body to the first patient's family. They even issued a death certificate in the first patient's name.

However, just moments before the cremation, the wife of the first patient got suspicious as the body didn't appear to be like that of her husband. In fact, she bribed someone at the Bansghat crematorium in the city to have a last look at his dead husband and found the body to be of someone else, reports the Times of India.

Immediately she rushed back to the hospital to find out that her husband was still alive and was under treatment.

As soon as the incident came to light, Patna District Magistrate Chandrasekhar Singh shot off a letter to the hospital authorities asking them to investigate the matter and take action against the person responsible for the incident within 24 hours.

He also asked them to take steps to ensure that such incidents are not repeated in the future.

Dismissing the health manager from her duties, the PMCH superintendent Dr. IS Thakur told the Times of India, "It was a serious matter showing gross negligence on the part of the health manager. She was terminated with immediate effect."

"The Barh man was admitted with some serious health issues. He was tested positive for the virus on Friday and admitted to the Covid ward where he is still undergoing treatment," Dr. Thakur added.

"Stern action will be taken against those found guilty," PMCH superintendent Dr. IS Thakur told ANI.

Meanwhile, relatives of the first patient became furious about the medical negligence.

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Speaking to The Print, she further informed that she was shocked when PMCH told them about her husband's "death". "When we last saw him, he looked stable. I cried for one full day, and was later relieved to find that the body was not that of my husband."

However, this whole incident has given the opposition an excuse to attack the State Government over the negligence going on in the State Hospitals.

While commenting on the matter, RJD MLA Bhai Virendra Yadav told The Print, "The casual manner and the gross negligence Covid patients face in Bihar are reflected from this goof-up at PMCH. The beds of Covid wards are full. Many health staff members have been tested. The government needs much more than making claims."