Denied Oxygen Support, Patient Dies In COVID Hospital In Odisha’s Ganjam

Berhampur: Alleged delay in treatment led to the death of an elderly man at a COVID-19 hospital in Ganjam district’s Berhampur on Friday.

Ganjam is Odisha’s worst-hit district in the coronavirus pandemic.

According to reports, Pankaj Behera lay writhing in pain in his hospital bed as he was not provided oxygen support on time. Soon after, he collapsed and passed away.

A retired Berhampur Development Authority (BeDA) official and resident of Engineering School Rajiv Nagar area of Berhampur, Behera was suffering from fever for the last two days. He was taken to the fever clinic of a city hospital and, as per protocol, the attending doctor insisted on a COVID-19 test.

Soon after his swab sample was collected, Pankaj complained of breathlessness following which the doctor advised his son Kishore to take him to a COVID hospital as he needed immediate oxygen support.

Pankaj was then shifted to the COVID Health Centre 2 at Biju Patnaik Homeopathic Medical College in the city. But he was neither attended by any doctor nor was he provided oxygen support, according to reports.

“There was no stretcher available at the hospital, so I had to carry my father through the staircase,” alleged his son. “The attendants in the COVID hospital didn’t have PPE kits and asked me to purchase one for them, so that they can attend my father wearing the same,” he further stated.

By the time Kishore got PPE kits for them, his father had sunk.

“The doctor was still nowhere to be seen when I brought the PPE kit. However, when the doctor finally came, my father had already passed away,” said Kishore.

Hospital authorities or officials of the district administration could not be contacted for their reaction.