Bhopal Shocker: Ambulance Drivers Leave COVID-19 Patient's Body On Pavement Outside Hospital, Act Caught On CCTV

In a shocking incident, a COVID-19 patient's body was left unattended on the pavement outside a hospital in Bhopal on the night of July 6 after a to and fro between hospitals.

Some security footages show two ambulance workers pulling the body out in a stretcher, putting the patient on the pavement and driving off.

The patient, who has been identified as a power distribution company worker, was admitted to hospital two weeks ago. He later developed breathing problems and was suspected to have been infected with pneumonia.

He tested positive for the novel coronavirus on the evening of July 6.

The man was initially being treated at the People's Hospital in Bhopal but after his COVID-19 test results came out, he was to be shifted to Chirayu hospital.

The deceased's son told NDTV that his samples were collected on July 5 and his report arrived on Monday.

The patient's son claims that his father was alive on Monday morning when an ambulance picked him up to transfer him to Chirayu Medical College and questions why the ambulance never returned.

"I do not know what happened in the ambulance but why did the district administration have to shift him to Chirayu and send the ambulance if they were to dump him on the road like this? Both the hospitals are at fault...they never informed us," he said.

Responding to the allegations made by the deceased's family, People's hospital manager Uday Shankar Dixit said: "As per protocol and IDSP (Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme) instructions, an ambulance from Chirayu Medical College reached, but after an hour-40 minutes they informed us that they were coming back. But by then we had sealed the ICU and started the process of fumigation of the hospital as per protocol, and while the process was still on, the ambulance returned."

"But when we resisted they dumped his body on the road outside the hospital. So after that I requested our staffers to wear a PPE kit, used our stretcher and tried to revive him but he was not breathing," Dixit said.

Ajay Goenka, Director of Chirayu Hospital, said that doctors from People's hospital had asked for an ambulance, stating they had a patient with a kidney failure and who was also suffering from some heart diseases, but "is stable".

"So we decided to send one ambulance with oxygen support. The driver picked up the patient and when he reached near VIP road he felt his condition is deteriorating and he is critical. He realized because of the traffic it will take around 45 minutes to reach Chirayu Hospital, so after talking to the doctors at People's hospital, he turned back midway," Goenka said.

Taking cognisance of the matter, Bhopal Collector Avinash Lavania asked the People's hospital: "How can you refer a patient to another hospital without stabilizing his condition? Moreover, he was admitted there since 23rd, so what protocol did they follow to ensure he doesn't get Corona infected? How can somebody who is admitted to a hospital for more than a week suddenly become corona positive? His symptoms would have shown if his situation became so bad".

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