AIIMS-Patna in dock for negligence after handing over body of COVID-19 patient

india

Updated: Mar 22, 2020 17:56 IST

The Patna All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS-P) is in the dock after it handed over the body of a patient, suffering from coronavirus (COVID-19), to his relatives on Sunday morning.

The patient, with a travel history to Qatar, was admitted to AIIMS on March 20 and died the next morning. He was suffering from chronic kidney disease. His kidneys had failed and he was on dialysis. He had been diagnosed with respiratory failure.

AIIMS-Patna Superintendent Dr CM Singh said, “We received the report late, after we handed over the body to the relatives on Sunday morning.”

However, Dr Pradeep Das, Director of the Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences (RMRIMS), said there was no delay in giving the report.

“We received the sample in the morning on March 20 and gave the report on March 21,” said Dr Das.

Defending his action in handing over the body before receipt of the test report, the superintendent, AIIMS-Patna, said, “The body of the coronavirus patient was handed over to his relatives properly wrapped in polythene.”

“Normally, the virus spreads through cough and sneezing. It is unlikely that the virus will spread through the body, though it remains on the surface for some time,” added Dr Singh.

Asked about the lapses on part of AIIMS in handing over the body of the COVID-19 patient to his relatives, Bihar’s principal secretary, health, Sanjay Kumar said, “We have passed on instructions to the Munger district administration to dispose of the body under observation, as per the standard operating procedure (SOP).”

He also said that instructions were being passed on to medical colleges and hospitals that, in future, they should not hand over bodies of COVID-19 suspects to their relatives, unless they received their laboratory reports.

Kumar also confirmed having received the confirmatory report about the deceased late on Saturday evening.

“I received the report around 12 midnight on Saturday. As per the SOP, the RMRIMS has to send any positive sample to the National Institute of Virology, Pune, for a confirmatory test. In this case, the Indian Council of Medical Research cleared the sample and allowed the RMRIMS to release the result around midnight,” added Kumar.