New Delhi: The situation in the national capital is constantly deteriorating due to the rapid surge in Covid-19 cases. Doctors are not admitting patients suffering from the virus due to lack of oxygen cylinders in the hospitals as well as due to the non-availability of beds.
Waiting for a bed, Covid-infected Ganga Devi (73) was forced to lie on the floor at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital in Delhi. According to the family, she is suffering from the virus but the doctors in the hospital refused to admit her.
Jeevan Singh, a resident of Delhi’s Patel Nagar area and son of Ganga Devi, wanted to admit his mother to the RML Hospital. She was forced to lie on the floor of the hospital for several hours, but could not find a bed.
Jeevan Singh told IANS, “My mother is infected with Covid-19. I received the Covid report in the morning and was referred to the RML Hospital. Now the hospital is asking me to get her admitted to another hospital.”
Hospitals are now resorting to the use of security personnel to scare away the families of Covid-infected patients.
Jeevan Singh was also asked not to speak to the media by the security personnel guarding the hospital. After moving out of the hospital, he told IANS, “The security personnel at the hospital told us that there is no use telling the truth. If you know anyone among the higher-ups in the hospital, you may get a bed. If not, then wherever you go, nothing is going to happen.”
Another family member accompanying Jeevan Singh told IANS, “The hospital has said there is no oxygen cylinder or beds available. Now we have no other way except to take our mother home.”
After waiting in vain for some more time to get a bed, Jeevan Singh finally took his infected mother back home from the hospital.
The Medical Superintendent of RML Hospital, A.K. Rana, told IANS: “There is a sudden spike in the number of Covid cases, while the hospital’s capacity is full. I have asked for 30 additional beds today.”
These 30 beds will increase the number of beds in the hospital to 260.
When asked about the woman who did not find a bed in the hospital, Rana said, “Delhi is not only just a city but a state too. A large section of people is getting infected with the virus, and in that case, there will always be a dearth of facilities.
On security personnel at the hospital allegedly warning patients against talking to the media, he said: “If any such news comes, I will stop them from doing so.”