Late on Saturday night, the family was informed that the him had tested positive for Covid-19. (Representational Photo)

WITHIN HOURS of feeling breathless, a 63-year-old man from Dharavi died due to delay in starting treatment at KEM Hospital, his family alleged. The man, a retired employee of the Railways, complained that he was finding it difficult to breathe on Friday afternoon, his family said.

After not being able to find doctors in their area of residence, his family took him to Lilavati Hospital as one of their relatives worked there but they were advised to go to a civic-run hospital, the family said.

His family then took him to Bhabha Hospital in Bandra, where they were told that beds were not available, following which they went to KEM hospital.

“Even as he continued to face breathing problems, the process of admission took long to be completed.

His blood tests were taken to determine whether he has Covid-19 but he was not admitted. By 9 pm, his condition deteriorated and he died,” his son said.

He added that when they asked for medical assistance to handle his breathing problem, the doctors told him that there was a shortage of beds with oxygen support.

While Pradeep Jadhav, medical superintendent at Bhabha Hospital, said there were no beds available at the hospital, KEM Dean Hemant Deshmukh said there was no shortage.

Deshmukh said after it was determined that the patient had Covid-19, they could be admitted to a designated Covid care ward. He also said the patient should have been taken to the nearest hospital like Sion, instead of a facility far from their residence.

The man’s son said, “Till Saturday evening, we were awaiting a report from the hospital to determine if his father had died of Covid-19. We were initially told that the body will be handed over to us in the morning, but then we were asked to wait for test results.” Late on Saturday night, the family was informed that the him had tested positive for Covid-19.