Coronavirus outbreak: 3 days, 4 hospitals later, woman dies of COVID-19

The National Railway Mazdoor Union NRMU has called for a highlevel probe into the death of a COVID19 patient who was admitted in three different railway hospitals over the weekend The union has alleged serious lapses and mismanagement on part of the hospitals in handling the patientThree major railway hospitals mdash Divisional Railway Hospital Kalyan East Jagjivan Ram Hospital JRH Mumbai Central HQ mdash Western Railway hospital and Dr BAM Railway Hospital Byculla HQCentral Railway hospital have come under the scanner in the incidentRailway officials informed midday that around 10 pm on April 3 P Sarita name changed 55 a resident of Kalyan West whose husband is a former railway worker was taken to the Divisional Railway Hospital Kalyan over breathlessness and fever She had no foreign travel history Sarita was admitted to the ICU where she came in contact with the casualty staff ICU doctor housekeeping and two nurses four people The treating staff suspected it to be a case of Covid19 and she was referred to Kasturba hospitalA surgical ward at Byculla Railway HospitalOn April 4 around 130 am Sarita was taken to JRH hospital from Kasturba hospital as she turned out to be Covid negative JRH a designated Covid19 hospital did not admit her since she was a nonCovid patient The relatives were asked to take her to Dr BAM railway hospital BycullaAround 330 am she was finally taken to Byculla railway hospital as she continued to be breathless An onduty nurse examined her and found low oxygen saturation levelsThe staff was only wearing a mask and no other protective gear Meanwhile a senior doctor on duty suspecting it to be a case of Covid advised that she be admitted in the isolation ward of the hospitalAt 10 am the next morning April 4 a male patient with cough and fever was admitted to the isolation ward a few beds away from Sarita The patient along with his relative had entered the ward through the same entry point that Sarita and her family had usedAt 307 pm that day Saritas swab was sent to Metropolis laboratory for testing while her condition continued to deteriorate The isolation ward did not have a ventilator facility The swab of the male patient was also collected around the same timeAt 11 pm that night the male patients report arrived testing him negative for Covid19 and he was dischargedAt 8 am the next morning April 5 Sarita was shifted to JRH hospital as her condition worsened By then an NRMU union member had learnt about the mismanagement and an ambulance was arranged by Byculla railway hospital but the relatives and ambulance driver were not given any protective gearAt 340 pm Metropolis lab sent her report to Byculla railway hospital and tested her for Covid19 positive sending the staff at Byculla hospital into panic mode as nearly seven to eight medical personnel had come in direct contact with Sarita during her stay thereNRMU soon intervened in the matter and took up the case with higher railway officials and one doctor two nurses and one attendant at Byculla hospital were put into quarantine late on April 5Around 8 pm the next day April 6 Sarita was declared dead at JRH hospitalFix responsibilityVenu Nair general secretary NRMU National Railway Mazdoor Union said We have already brought the matter to the notice of senior railway officials and our union has asked for a highlevel probe in the case to fix responsibility Also all the doctors nursing staff and paramedics including housekeeping and ambulance driver primary contacts along with secondary and tertiary contacts should be identified and quarantined The hospitals Kalyan Byculla and Mumbai Central should be fumigated and disinfectants sprayed before it is thrown open for publicA union member added The railway administration should report the incident to the health department at both Centre and state and take corrective measures A senior railway official said We are looking into the issues raised by NRMU It is unfortunate but we will take the required corrective measures and get to the bottom of the matterRules brokenWith regard to isolation wards a source at Kalyan railway hospital said Directives from the ministry of health clearly state that isolation wards must have separate entry and exit points In this case the patients in isolation have used the same entry as other patients their relatives and even doctorsparamedical staffAlso at Byculla hospital the isolation ward can be reached only after passing the chemotherapy centre and the blood bankSources revealed that the husband and children of the deceased have now been kept in quarantine at Kalyan railway hospital and so have the staff of the hospitalPatient timelineApril 3 10 pmPatient taken to Kalyan railway hospital for breathlessnessApril 4 midnightPatient shifted to Kalyan railway hospital for breathlessness Patient taken to Kasturba hospitalApril 4 130 amPatient shifted to JRH hospital Mumbai CentralApril 4 330 amPatient shifted to Byculla Railway HospitalApril 5 8 amPatient shifted back to JRH as her condition deterioratedApril 6 8 pmPatient declared dead at JRHCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates