INTRO
Saving one’s skin and not lives is perhaps the guiding mantra of Ujjain administration in the ongoing fight against Corona virus. The city, that marked its presence on Covid-19 map at the onset of lockdown on March 25 by reporting its first (Covid-19) death, saw the mortality rate rise to 22% between March 25 and May 31. Instead of trying to crush the corona menace and stub the infection, the jittery administration launched a “damage-control” exercise. It appeared to be a game on a chess board. Officers on crucial positions were check-mated and replaced overnight. Arbitrary agreements were struck with private medical colleges for Covid-19 treatment. As corona subsided, officials patted their backs for ‘this new found success’. However, there are several loopholes in administration’s ‘success story’. Free Press goes behind side scene to highlight these loopholes and test the administration claims one-by-one. Nirukht Bhargava, in his shocking trail finds...
CASE STUDY
A 72-year-old man of 102, Begumpura was admitted to RD Gardi Medical College (RDGMC) on May 17. He was reported to have died at 2.15am on June 2. Medical certificate issued vide form number-14(A) said that he was corona positive and cited ‘respiratory failure’ as cause of death. Last rites, too, were performed as per corona protocol. However, for district administration it was not a corona death even though his name finds a mention in the list of Corona positive patients and it stands there at Serial Number 321. The list also claimed that he was discharged on May 30.
So the patient is ‘dead’ in one government agency record and ‘alive’ in another.
This raises a very pertinent question: Who is lying? While RD Gardi Medical College (RDGMC) records claim that the patient died on June 2 due to Covid-19, the administration claimed that the said patient was discharged on May 30 after defeating corona.
The above-mentioned case had created a major crisis in the district. After the patient had tested positive, his entire family was screened and tested. Eleven members of his family, spanning over three generations, were also found to be infected. As a result, Begumpura was notified as second major hotspot of the city.
The case raises a serious question mark over the authenticity of the ‘corona record’ of the district administration and points towards some sort of a man-induced discrepancy.
NUMBERS GAME
District administration says that around three dozen Covid-19 deaths were reported in RDGMC, but is silent over many other deaths in the hospital, whose number is not less than the ‘accepted’ deaths.
BLURB
According to administration’s record, the corona positive (mentioned above and whose real name has been concealed) was admitted to RDGMC and was discharged on May 30. Hence, as per administration’s record the said deceased person is still alive. However, the reality is starkly different. He died on June 2. RDGMC issued doctor’s certificate declaring it a ‘Corona death’.
Version
On condition of anonymity, an RDGMC official on Saturday said, “Begumpura man was Corona positive and we treated him accordingly as per protocol for a fortnight. He died on June 2 and his body was sent for last rites as per (corona) protocol. We issued death certificate citing it as Covid-19 death.” CMHO Dr Mahavir Khandelwal said though the patient in question had initially tested positive, his second report came negative and that’s why he was shown discharged in the list of Corona positive patients.
Asked why the list line showed him discharged on May 30 when he died on June 2 at RDGMC, CMHO said that he was out of station and would comment only after checking the facts on his return to Ujjain.
