2 die in Covid isolation wards of West Champaran hospitals

BETTIAH: Two people succumbed in the Covid isolation wards of Narkatiaganj sub-divisional hospital and Government Medical College, Bettiah, respectively on Wednesday.
Civil Surgeon Arun K Singh said, “The Nakatiaganj patient had co-morbidities.”
While the confirmation added to the tally of five Covid deaths reported earlier by the state health department, a video grab of the isolation ward of the medical college shows gross negligence by the authorities which went viral on Wednesday.Shot by an inmate’s attendant, it showed a young patient with an oxygen mask lying on the bed in the ward. The attendant is heard alleging that the patient has been left unattended by doctors and nurses. Other patients too have been left to fend for themselves, the attendant alleged.
Late in the evening when word spread that the young patient had succumbed, both the deputy superintendent and the medical college principal pleaded ignorance. “ I have come to the collectorate for a meeting,” deputy superintendent Sri Kant Dubey said. Medical College principal Binod Kumar too did not confirm the death. “Allegations in the video are lies. There is a roster of doctors and nurses on duty,” he said adding that a fear psychosis is trigerring such video shoots.
Late in the evening when TOI tracked the patient’s brother on phone, he said: “ I am still at the isolation ward to collect my brother’s body.”
“My brother died at 5:18 pm,” he said, confirming that he himself had shot the video earlier in the day in exasperation when repeated cries for help failed to elicit any response from doctors and nurses. “We had admitted him here on Monday,” he said, adding, “His Covid test report is still pending.”
This is a tale that has recurred after a banker’s death a few days earlier. Surprisingly, the Bettiah Medical College is yet to receive Covid confirmation kits.
Meanwhile, a fear psychosis that the medical college principal spoke of is indeed gripping people at large with reports of low testing, inordinate delays in confirmation and videos alleging callous treatment.
Amid reports of these two deaths within a day, seven police personnel including four officers were reported to be Covid positive at Chanpatia police station. “Altogether, 28 people from my force have tested positive,” SP Nitasha Gudiya said..