Unfair campaign: Health Min dismisses COVID victim's negligence claim

Asserting that the COVID-19 victim, who passed away after sending a purported selfie-video alleging negligence in treatment, was provided oxygen, Telangana Health Minister E Rajender on Monday described the move as “unfair campaign” on the social media.

He said that the man was provided oxygen and treatment and an unfair campaign is running on the social media showing government hospitals in poor light when thousands of patients were cured by them.

The statement comes in the backdrop of a 34-year old COVID-19 positive patient sending a selfie-video from his hospital bed in Hyderabad to his father, alleging negligence in treatment and died later, but authorities rejected the charge, saying he suffered a fatal heart attack.

“Though I said I am not able to breathe, they did not listen and ….stopped… it has been three hours. I am not able to breathe. Heartbeat has stopped and only lungs are working. Bye daddy. Bye to all, daddy,” the man said in the short video which went viral on social media.

Officials said the man died of heart attack on June 26 two days after he was admitted to the state-run hospital with some symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19.

His father said his son died minutes after sending the video. His last rites were performed on Saturday (June 27).

“My son was suffering from high fever on June 24. After trying for admission in a few hospitals, he was finally admitted to the Chest Hospital on June 24, where he succumbed on June 26,” the father, who hails from Jawaharnagar on the outskirts of Hyderabad said.

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Denying the allegation that the ventilator was removed, Chest hospital superintendent Mahboob Khan said, “The ventilator support was very much there, but the patient was in such a critical stage that he could not feel the oxygen supply.” Khan added that the young man had died of a sudden collapse of heart.

“We have come across such cases in the last few days. Usually, aged people die because of the collapse of the lungs infected by COVID-19. We are seeing a new phenomenon of people in the age group of 25-40 years succumbing because of viral infection in the heart. They will be provided oxygen but, they feel it insufficient,” he said.

He said the doctors had done their best to save the man, but he was already in a critical condition at the time of admission. “There was no fault of doctors at all,” the hospital superintendent said.