Noida: FIR Against Five Doctors Over Negligence Leading To Death Of Covid Patient

The patient's family claimed that despite having a doctor's prescription, he was not given the remdesivir injection on time at the hospital; however, the hospital refuted the allegations.

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Officials claimed on Monday that five doctors from a private hospital in Noida have been charged with negligence in treating a COVID-19 patient, which reportedly resulted in his death during the second wave of the pandemic in 2021, as reported by news agency PTI. 

According to the FIR, the patient's family stated that despite obtaining a remdesivir injection on the basis of a doctor's prescription, he was not administered it on time at the hospital.

A first information report (FIR) has been filed at the Phase 2 police station against the doctors of Yatharth Hospital under Indian Penal Code section 304A (causing death by carelessness) in response to a complaint filed by Gautam Buddh Nagar's deputy chief medical officer, Dr Tikam Singh, PTI reported. 

Dr Singh also led an official investigation team that probed the Ghaziabad-based family's complaint and found the claims to be accurate.

The charges, according to Yatharth Hospital's managing director Kapil Tyagi, are misplaced.

“The patient was brought to our hospital in a critical condition. I believe the patient would not have survived if there had been a delay of even half an hour. But here his condition started improving and after about 35 days, the family took him to another hospital in Delhi,” Tyagi was quoted as saying by PTI. 

He stated that the hospital's medical personnel performed an excellent job given the difficult circumstances during the pandemic's second wave last year.

“Also, on the family's allegation of not administering remdesivir injection in time, there are multiple research reports which later showed remdesivir had no impact in treating coronavirus. We understand that the family has lost a young child and it is very unfortunate,” Tyagi added. 

The in charge of the Phase 2 police station, Paramhans Tiwari, stated that the police are investigating the case and that further action will be taken based on the findings of their investigation, according to PTI. 

As per the final report published by the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), remdesivir was superior to placebo in shortening the time to recovery in adults who were hospitalised with Covid-19 and had evidence of lower respiratory tract infection.

Another research published by the National Library of Medicine stated that "remdesivir has a positive effect on hospital stay length but has no effect on mortality. If verified in additional studies, remdesivir should be explored as an alternative to dexamethasone, especially where other affordable effective choices are lacking, as in many low- and middle-income countries."

(With Inputs From PTI)