No ICU beds, ventilators available at SVP Hospital: Gohil
By Abdulhafiz lakhani Ahmedabad
Discrepancies in the government’s data on COVID-19 death toll—first reported shortly after the pandemic hit the state last year—have reportedly witnessed a surge, alongside the number of cases over the past month.
Ahmedabad had remained a COVID-19 hotspot in the past and the Gujarat government was even pulled up by the High Court for its alleged failure in handling the situation well.
Observers say the numbers published on the state health department’s dashboard do not match with the actual death figures. In Ahmedabad, staff members responsible for transporting bodies said that they work in three different shifts.
“In the first shift, 12 patient bodies are received from the top floors, which are released to their respective families. Most deaths occur at night or early in the morning. Despite the fear of contracting the virus, all employees carry out their duties. Those who get infected return to work post recovery,” one such staffer, who did not want to be named for fear of professional blowback, told .
The death toll has risen in the last 15 days alone. Before that, there was hardly one death per day and now 35 deaths occur on an average daily. However, the government claims that only seven deaths occurred on Wednesday, this person added.
In Rajkot, the time taken for a patient’s body to be handed over to family members has climbed up to three to four hours after death. A video that has gained traction on social media clarifies that people have had to wait to receive the bodies of their loved ones and to conduct funerals.
A similar situation has been witnessed in Surat as well. According to government figures, 24 patients died in Rajkot in the last 24 hours, meaning that one patient died every hour on an average.
Meanwhile, Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Shaktisinh Gohil took to his Twitter handle and issued grievances regarding the unavailability of beds at government-run Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) Hospital. “ICU beds or ventilators are not available for COVID-19 patients anywhere in Ahmedabad.
I spoke to established private hospitals and also the government-run SVP Hospital, and not a single ICU bed or ventilator is available for patients. @vijayrupanibjp.
We request (the government) to immediately pay attention to this,” he tweeted. Later, the MP posted a video message expressing concern over the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the state. “I received many calls regarding hospitalization for COVID-19, and I couldn’t find a single ICU bed in SVP or any other leading private hospital. I urge the government that there is nothing costlier than human life, and it must provide ICUs/ventilators, if they are needed. There must be immediate arrangement.
The government claimed to have a 1,200-bed hospital, but that has only 300 ICU beds, and it is all chaotic,” he said. Quoting the Delhi High Court, Gohil implied that it was not “proper” for the government to sell or donate the vaccines to other countries when Indians were not receiving access to it. “I request Gujarat CM to talk with the prime minister, if needed
We cannot leave our people at mercy of God. This is not a political comment but a heartfelt request. We must think for the betterment of the crisis being faced by Gujaratis,” he said.
Hitting back to Gohil, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who handles Health portfolio, said over 80 lakh persons in the state were already given the Covid-19 vaccine, which is a record in the country.”Our government was always serious about coronavirus and we have implemented various measures in a well-planned manner during the last one year. Compared to other states, Gujarat is way ahead when it comes to fighting this pandemic,” Patel told reporters at a press conference in Gandhinagar.
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