SRINAGAR, August 3: A patient died at Sopore hospital on Monday morning allegedly due to medical negligence, the charges denied by the Block Medical Officer (BMO) who instead blamed his family. A family member of the deceased said that the 65-year-old patient from New Colony Sopore had a fever a few days before Eid-ul-Azha. “We took him to Sopore hospital where we were told that a rapid test is not done there. Then we took him to Bandipora hospital where he was found COVID-19 positive. The doctors suggested keeping him in home quarantine,” the family member said. On Monday morning, he said the patient complained of breathlessness. “We rushed him to Sopore hospital where no doctor attended him for 30 minutes. Then a doctor came and told us he had to wear PPE. The doctor took 30 more minutes to wear PPE. Till then the patient’s saturation level had gone down,” the family member alleged. Then after he said the doctor told them to take the patient on the third floor as he needs to be put on oxygen support. “While climbing up stairs, he collapsed and died due to cardiac arrest as his saturation level had gone down. He died because of negligence of the doctors as they delayed his treatment for over an hour and did not put him on oxygen support on the ground floor,” he said. BMO Sopore Dr Asif Khanday however refuted all the allegations of the family. “How they kept symptomatic patient at home when home quarantine for COVID patients has not been started yet in Baramulla. After doing a test at Bandipora, did they inform us they have positive symptomatic patient at home and risked the lives of others in the community, which is a crime. The patient was diabetic and hypertensive still they kept him at home,” Dr Khanday said. “We have also told the police to take the matter seriously and how they kept positive patient at home. The family has shown negligence on their part,” he claimed. He termed the allegations of the family baseless that doctors did not attend the patient for over an hour.(KINS)
