MUMBAI: The Sangli police on Friday sealed a private Covid care centre and arrested its owner following the death of 77 people there over one month owing to medical negligence and lack of infrastructure.
Sangli is the hometown of NCP leader and water resources minister Jayant Patil.
Sangli-Kupwad civic chief Nitin Kapadnis confirmed to TOI that out of 205 patients admitted in the hospital over a period of time, 77 had died.
“Police have sealed the hospital, arrested its owner and the recognition of the hospital has been withdrawn with immediate effect,” he said.
Times ViewAction taken by the authorities appears to have been necessary.
But there remains the question of how the hospital was given permission to function as a private Covid care centre in the first place when even basic requirements of infrastructure and staff, including qualified doctors, were not met.
Were no checks conducted? In case they weren’t, and even if they were, should not action be initiated against the officials who granted it the status of a Covid care centre?Sangli’s Apex Hospital, owned and run by Mahesh Jadhav, was granted approval to run a Covid care centre three months ago.
After a local court rejected Jadhav’s anticipatory bail plea, he was arrested and an offence for culpable homicide registered against him.
Sangli centre doctors trainees, not qualified for Covid careThe Sangli police on Friday sealed a private Covid care centre and arrested its owner following the death of 77 persons.
Sangli-Kupwad civic chief NitinKapadnis said there was lack of basic infrastructure and manpower for treatment of Covid-19 patients.
“We will take stern action against the hospital owner,” he said.
While the administration found that there was either shortage of ventilators at the hospital or there were no ventilators at all, most of the doctors at the centre too were not qualified to treat Covid-19 patients.
“Our information is that most of the doctors were trainees, and even the medical and paramedical staff had no experience in treatment of Covid-19 patients,” a senior official said.
The official said that when permission is given for a Covid care centre, it is normally ensured that it meets norms prescribed by the public health department.
“We ensure there are an adequate number of ventilators, oxygen beds and basic infrastructure, particularly manpower, doctors and paramedical staff,” he said.
In the wake of a series of complaints, including about inflated bills, the civic chief visited the hospital and found several lacunae.
A team of doctors, including the civic body’s chief medical officer, and dean of Miraj Government Medical College, then visited the hospital for verification.
“We registered an FIR on May 31,” the official said.