Mumbai: A video showing bodies of COVID-19 victims lying unattended near patients undergoing treatment at civic-run Sion hospital here went viral Thursday.
Probe ordered
Dr Pramod Ingle, Dean, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, said the reluctance of relatives to collect bodies led to this situation. He also announced a probe into the incident.
A statement was issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Thursday evening. It quoted Dr Ingle as saying that a probe will be conducted into the genuineness of the video.
Reluctance to take bodies
Earlier, the dean said relatives of coronavirus victims are often reluctant to take possession of bodies. “That is the reason why the bodies were kept unattended. We have now removed the bodies and are probing the matter,” Dr Ingle informed.
Dr Ingle was asked why the bodies were not shifted to the mortuary. “There are 15 slots in the hospital’s mortuary of which 11 were already filled. Some space has to be kept free for those who die of causes other than coronavirus infection,” Ingle pointed out.
Probe ordered
Dr Ingle said the civic body has formed a committee to verify the ‘genuineness and facts’ of the video. It will submit a report within 24 hours. Action will be taken against those found responsible.
The BMC had directed that bodies of COVID-19 victims should be handed over to their relatives within 30 minutes. But many times relatives are unavailable to take the body. Sometimes they do not turn up despite repeated calls, Dr Ingle said. Strict institutions were given to avoid the recurrence of such incidents, he added.
Opposition slams government
Opposition BJP slammed the Shiv Sena-ruled BMC over the video.
“The Sion hospital has shown utmost negligence. They have permitted COVID-19 patients sleep among the bodies of those who died of the same disease. Disgusting,” tweeted BJP MLA Nitesh Rane.
Rane noted that the hospital mostly gets patients from Dharavi, the biggest slum in the country. “Is this how we treat our working class? Such carelessness could result in further spread of coronavirus infection,” he added.
Agencies
