Private hospital in Gujarat gets sealed for treating COVID-19 patients sans nod

AHMEDABAD: A private hospital in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city has been sealed for treating COVID-19 patients despite not being designated for it, the city civic body said on Thursday.

During a spot inspection on Wednesday, a team of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation found 13 patients undergoing COVID-19 treatment at Atmiya Hospital in Naroda area, the AMC said in a release.

It was also found that instead of the RT-PCR or antigen tests, the hospital was conducting diagnosis of patients based on high-resolution computerised tomography (HRCT) scans and admitted them for COVID-19 treatment on the basis of the scan results, the release said.

While going through each patient's treatment documents, it was found that they were administered Remdesivir drug as part of COVID-19 treatment, it said.

Police action will also be initiated against the hospital management, the release said.

The inspection was conducted following complaints that the hospital was admitting patients for COVID-19 treatment without any approval, it said.

Following the spot inspection, the hospital, which was not designated by the AMC to treat COVID-19 patients, was sealed on Wednesday, the release said.

Till Wednesday, Ahmedabad district reported 52,910 COVID-19 cases and 2,145 deaths due to the disease, as per official figures.