Delhi woman alleges coronavirus positive father died due to delay in treatment

A woman has alleged that her father, who had tested positive for coronavirus, was not admitted in time by a Delhi government hospital -- due to which he died on Thursday.

The authorities have, however, denied the charges.

The woman, Amarpreet Kaur, took to Twitter earlier in the day, saying, "My dad is having high fever. We need to shift him to hospital. I am standing outside LNJP Delhi and they are not taking him in. He is having corona, high fever and breathing problem. He won't survive without help. Pls help."

An hour later, she again tweeted, saying, "He is no more. The govt failed us."

Her tweets were widely circulated on social media.

The authorities at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan (LNJP) Hospital, a dedicated COVID-19 facility, denied the charge, saying the patient was "brought dead".

According to information shared by the hospital, the 68-year-old man, who also had asthma, died at 7:37 am.

"According to a report from the emergency department, the man was tested for COVID-19 at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) and the report came on June 1, in which he was found positive for coronavirus infection," a senior official said.

He was sent to home quarantine from there.

On Thursday, he was brought to the casualty department of the hospital in an "unconscious state" and with a flat ECG line, and declared "brought dead".

Amarpreet Kaur lives in Gurgaon with her husband Mandeep Singh, who said the family members rushed to the hospital after getting to know about his father-in-law's condition.

"My father-in-law was taken in a car by my wife's brother and a cousin, accompanied by my mother-in-law," Singh said, and alleged that the LNJP Hospital staff "were not willing to see my father-in-law, even as he fainted in the car".

"They are saying he was brought dead, but was he even attended to. The staff kept saying go to Ganga Ram Hospital. We were just at a loss," he alleged, the charge again denied by the LNJP Hospital authorities.

Singh also alleged that the family "never received any call" from the SGRH on the positive COVID-19 status of his father-in-law.

A spokesperson of the SGRH denied the charge, saying, "There is no truth in these allegations. However, we sympathise with the family for their loss."

Singh also claimed that the family had approached three-four other private and government hospitals a few days ago, but "could not get admission" in any of those facilities, adding that they found out that beds were available at the LNJP Hospital, so he was taken there.

Later, in a statement, the LNJP Hospital rejected the claims of the family as "incorrect and false", saying the man was brought to the hospital between 7:10 am and 7:30 am, was "not refused admission and examined by a doctor".

It also claimed that the first tweet was put up by Kaur at 8:05 am and subsequently, she sent out another tweet, saying her father died at 9:08 am, but he died at 7:37 am.

Singh responded to it and claimed that the tweets were "put out from his wife's account by a friend of hers", as she was scrambling to get her father medical attention and hence, there could have been a delay.

Asked if the man's family was made to wait at the hospital, a source said, the LNJP Hospital, being a dedicated facility, sees a "lot of rush" of patients.

"Also, there are four doctors in the casualty department, who can attend to only four patients at a time following all social-distancing and other safety guidelines. But the triage team looks out for any person in the queue, who needs immediate medical attention," the source said.

The woman later tweeted seeking COVID-19 tests for all family members.

"I lost my father today morning to COVID we want other family members to get tested today only. which labs are not doing they are in danger. We are trying since morning. My mother, brother, his wife and two kids. Pls help (sic)," she said.

(with inputs from PTI)