At least five persons were arrested in three incidents of attack on hospital staff and vandalising property in Vaishali, Muzaffarpur and Bhagalpur districts over the last 24 hours in Bihar. Those arrested were relatives of Covid patients who died during treatment. Their kin alleged that the deaths were caused by medical negligence by the hospitals.
In Vaishali, police said three persons were arrested and a search for several others was going on for vandalism and manhandling of staff at a government hospital after the death of a Covid patient late on Tuesday evening. Following the incident, the hospital staff went on a strike.
50-year-old Sumitra Devi, who was admitted to the Sadar hospital in a critical condition on Tuesday morning, died during treatment in the evening, which made her family and relatives accuse the medical staff of negligence. They ransacked furniture and broke window glasses and allegedly abused and manhandled the staffers. It was only after police’s arrival that the body of the woman was wheeled out. Two children of the dead woman, Jwala Mahto and his sister Sharmila Kumari, were arrested by police. Sharmila told reporters that her mother was “not treated properly” and the nursing staff at the hospital sought bribes at every step.
“Nurse [name withheld] asked [for] money for treatment [of mother]. The other staff members were asking for cash separately to go check on my mother. When they were refused money, the medical staff referred her [mother] to Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH). It is complete medical negligence,” Sharmila told gathered reporters.
A case was registered after the incident with the Town police station for rioting, assaulting public servants and criminal intimidation along with the sections of Epidemic Disease Act. The hospital has denied medical negligence.
“There was no negligence. Patient’s condition was critical when she was brought to hospital. Her oxygen level was very low,” said civil surgeon Dr Indradeo Prasad. He added that policemen have been posted outside the hospital on his request after the incident.
In the second incident, reported from Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) Muzaffarpur, angry relatives of a Covid patient admitted in ward 14, vandalised hospital property alleging the patient died due to medical negligence. The hospital staff ran for cover. The situation was brought under control after the station house officer (SHO) of police outpost Sumanji Jha arrived at the hospital with his team.
In Bhagalpur, two brothers, Akshay Kapri and Chhotu Kapri were arrested earlier today allegedly for assaulting medical staff and vandalizing property at Mayaganj Hospital accusing them of mismanagement and negligence.
Police said the accused attacked Dr Rahul Kumar Bharti and Dr Ranjan Kumar alleging they had cut off oxygen supply to their grandfather. After the situation was brought into control, the doctors at the hospital staged a flash protest refusing to return to work in absence of adequate security.
The brothers said they had already lost their father and uncle to the coronavirus and were enraged to see the knob of oxygen cylinder supplying gas to their grandfather switched off. “I made a video, which went viral on social media. This led to police taking action against me,” alleged Akshay.
Incidents of attacks on doctors and nurses have increased in Bihar in the past couple of weeks following the healthcare infrastructure crumbling under pressure from the second wave of Covid-19 infection. While the hospitals struggle to treat a rising number of patients, their problems have been compounded by a shortage of ICU beds and critical medical supplies such as oxygen and life-saving medicines, which are being hoarded and black marketed by unscrupulous elements. Unable to contain the crisis quickly, the state government has announced a 10-day long lockdown.
