BHOPAL: Gas victims of Bhopal gas tragedy have charged Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC) with criminal negligence and mismanagement as six gas victims suffering from COVID-19 have died in the hospital's isolation ward in the last 15 days.
Victims will bring up the dire situation of Bhopal gas victims vis a vis COVID-19 and BMHRC’s negligence in a Writ Petition pending before the MP High Court on October 7 where the Secretary, Health have also been summoned to appear.
In a letter addressed to the Supreme Court’s Monitoring Committee the survivor groups have shared details of 6 gas victims who died in the isolation ward as there was no full-time doctor posted to administer and no treatment for COVID-19 was being administered to these patients.
While gas victims (COVID positive & suspect) are left to die in isolation ward of BMHRC, what is even more diabolical is that gas victims in need of ICU facilities, Pulmonary, Neurology, Gastro Surgery and Neuro Surgery are being refused admission in the hospital. Data obtained under RTI clearly shows that almost all of these departments have reduced admission of gas victims when compared to non COVID times.
Rachna Dhingra of Bhopal Group for Information & Action, said, “The city is facing shortage of Oxygen & ICU facilities for COVID patients. Keeping the vulnerability of gas victims in view, BMHRC should have prepared for this crisis. We are hopeful that the Monitoring Committee will direct BMHRC to start a 40 ICU & HDU (high dependency unit) bed unit to cater to gas victims suffering from COVID-19 at the earliest.”
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