Patient dragged through Nizamabad hospital corridor in Telangana

HYDERABAD: A viral video of a debilitated patient being dragged through the corridors of a state-run hospital by his parents due to alleged non-availability of wheelchairs drew sharp criticism from Opposition parties on Saturday.
While senior officials of Nizamabad Government General Hospital, which is in the centre of the storm, clarified that attendants resorted to the shocking act to swiftly get into the lift, health minister T Harish Rao ordered an inquiry.
The 40-year-old patient from Nizamabad was brought to the hospital after he suffered acute alcohol withdrawal symptoms, said hospital authorities.
The patient was brought by his parents in an inebriated state on March 31. They sat at the outpatient waiting area through the night. He lay unconscious till the morning and when the duty doctor referred him to a ward on the second floor, parents dragged him to the lift and again to the ward," said a hospital source.
Hospital superintendent Dr Pratima Raj said the 10-second video was of April 1. "The video was shot and uploaded on social media to malign the image of the hospital. The patient was brought in a wheelchair from the casualty ward to the waiting hall by ward boys. It was not the hospital staff, who dragged the patient. Our staff, in fact, responded swiftly to the call of duty," said Dr Raj, denying reports of missing wheelchairs and stretchers in the hospital.
Reacting to the viral video, minister T Harish Rao said: "It's unfortunate that videos are being shot and made viral without verification. Such a misinformation campaign may force people to lose faith in government hospitals".