21-year-old dies in Noida: Was taken to four hospitals, turned away

GREATER NOIDA: Two days after he was treated for acute abdominal pain, Robin, a 21-year-old from Badhpura village developed Covid-like symptoms. But the hospital that had treated him earlier allegedly denied him admission this time. Then, three other hospitals did the same. At the District Hospital, which finally took him in, he died on Friday night. No autopsy was conducted, nor a Covid-19 test because, the administration said, “he was a chronic alcoholic” and there was “no evidence” of Covid-19.
Last Sunday, Robin had acute abdominal pain and a headache that wouldn’t go away. He kept throwing up. His uncle, Satveer, said he was taken to the private hospital that had treated him. “He probably had had too much to drink. He remained in the hospital till June 24 (Wednesday),” he said.

But on Friday, he got sick again. This time, with high fever and nausea. “The patient was brought to the hospital around 7.30pm. He seemed critical as his symptoms were indeterminate. Without wasting any time, the patient was referred to the government hospital,” the management of the hospital where he had been initially treated told Dadri sub-divisional magistrate Rajeev Rai. The medical report also mentioned “history of chronic alcoholism.”
But the family tried its luck at another private facility, the administration’s report said. Denied admission there as well, they took Robin to the Dadri community health centre around 8.30pm. They could not take him in either and referred him to the District Hospital in Sector 30. “We reached there by 9pm. After a few minutes, he was admitted. But around 9.30pm, the doctors declared him dead,” Satveer said. “He could have been saved.”
Robin’s family alleged that negligence had led to his death. The district administration has set up an inquiry.
“The deceased was a chronic alcoholic, for which he was receiving treatment and, presumably, died due to issues related to that,” Rai said in his report, adding that it was not a Covid-19 death. However, no autopsy was done and no Covid-19 test, he said, and the body was handed over to the family and cremated on Saturday afternoon. Rai added he got in touch with all four hospitals. “The patient’s illness was difficult to establish at the time, so the doctors referred him to a higher centre.”