Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro directs inspection of Covid hospitals

BHUBANESWAR:  Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro on Saturday directed Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kishore Das to form a special squad for inspection of all Government and private Covid-19 hospitals in the State in view of the large number of complaints received from different quarters about mismanagement in the facilities. The Speaker’s ruling came in response to the issue raised by leader of the Opposition Pradipta Kumar Naik again on the day. Naik has been raising the issue for the last couple of days.

While giving his ruling on the issue, the Speaker said that the Government has also been receiving similar complaints about mismanagement in Covid-19 hospitals. He directed the Minister to set up a special team to visit all Covid hospitals in the State and make on the spot review of their functioning.

On Saturday, the leader of the Opposition alleged that the manner in which these Covid hospitals are being managed are not at all suitable for the patients to stay in them. Giving example of a dedicated Covid hospital in Bhawanipatna, Naik said that it has not been cleaned for the last three days. Left over of food items and other things are lying scattered on the floor of the hospital in which several patients are admitted and being treated.Alleging that latrines of the hospitals are not being cleared properly, Naik said that even drinking water is not provided to the patients. 

Speaker directs inspection of Covid hospitals

Doctors are not visiting the patients regularly and medicines are thrown at them, he said and demanded immediate corrective action by the Government. Naik said the condition of Covid hospitals across the State is similar. “When we admitted a patient in a Covid hospital in Berhampur, the blood pressure of a patient having hypertension was not checked for three days,” he alleged. The Assembly had also discussed mismanagement of the Covid-19 situation in the State through adjournment motion notice brought the by Opposition members on Wednesday.