An elderly man from Hazaribagh, who was on oxygen support, died at the entrance of Ranchi Sadar Hospital on Tuesday morning while waiting for hours on a stretcher to get admission around the time state health minister Banna Gupta was conducting a surprise inspection of the government facility.
Attendants of the patient claimed that they begged the staff to allow him to be admitted, but that they refused citing a host of procedures and non-availability of beds, once again exposing shortcomings of the health system of the state capital amid a raging pandemic. Despite the state government’s tall claims of reserving beds at hospitals, those fighting ailments are faced with a horrific reality.
The deceased was identified as Lav Kumar Gupta. He was suffering from respiratory issues, but is not known wheteher he was a Covid patient. His daughter blamed the health minister and the entire health system of Jharkhand as she broke down at the hospital.
“Sadar hospital in Hazaribagh referred us to Ranchi on Monday. We reached here early on Tuesday. After failing to get a bed in private hospitals, we came to sadar hospital around 8am. But there was no one to help us for hours. Repeated pleas to at the admission section went unheard. While some some cited space issues, others kept talking about paper work, leading to the death of my father,” she rued.
During the inspection, minister Gupta walked around the hospital in a PPE kit. Speaking to reporters later he said, “Any death is an unfortunate incident. The government is trying its best to address the crisis. I appeal to the media to support us in this hour of crisis.”
Health minister Banna Gupta (in PPE kit) inspecting facilities at sadar hospital in Ranchi on Tuesday. Telegraph Picture
Gupta sad he was trying to streamline the system, which was why he had begun inspections. "At sadar hospital, we have realised that there are many patients who are occupying beds without much need. They can be easily sent to home isolation. In ICU, too, we are soon going to empty the oxygen support beds. I will also going to make surprise inspections of private hospitals.”
Opposition BJP on the other hand accused the state government of mismanagement and demanded that chief minister Hemant Soren declare a "health emergency in Jharkhand."
In a statement, BJP state president Deepak Prakash said, “The government is in total chaos. It is unaware how to tackle the crisis while people keep dying every day. Even after death, the deceased aren’t getting a respectable cremation. It’s high time the government declares a health emergency in Jharkhand.”