Covid-19 patients and relatives complain of poor care in Palani govt hospital

MADURAI: A video of Covid-19 patients and their attendants alleging poor care by doctors and nurses in Palani Government Hospital has emerged on social media platforms.
The video was taken inside the Covid-19 ward on Sunday.
One of them complained that oxygen was frequently getting stopped and the devices installed to show the vital signs were not working properly. People were dying because adequate care was not being given there, he alleged.
A patient without wearing a mask complained, “I came this morning. But no one came so far to check my health condition. Is this how a hospital functions?.”
“Doctors are not coming. They are not checking the patients even if we go and ask them to check,” said a woman taking care of a Covid-19 patient
Another man seen pointing to the body of a patient who got admitted to the hospital on Sunday. “He developed a chest pain. But no one came to check him. He died subsequently,” he said.
However, doctors in the hospital have denied the accusations and said that patients could not distinguish between nurses and doctors as they wear PPE kit.(In the video even as the patients complain about the absence of doctors and nurses, a couple of nurses are seen walking in the background.)
As many as 100 beds were allotted for Covid-19 patients and an additional 70 beds for influenza like infection cases and severe acute respiratory infection cases, they said.
Chief medical officer of the hospital P Udhayakumar told TOI that a man had died not responding to treatment. The patients were agitated after it. They took the video when the emotions were running high after the death.
“Oxygen is made available adequately. They procure it locally and ensure that it does not run out. Doctors and nurses are monitoring the patients continuously,” Udhayakumar said.