Denial of treatment to AIDS patient to be probed at PMCH

Patna, Apr 18 (UNI) Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) today ordered a probe into the alleged denial of treatment and refusal of admission to an AIDS patient in the government owned hospital.

PMCH's deputy superintendent Ashok Choudhry said a five-member committee headed by PMCH superintendent A K Pandey was constituted to probe the incident. The other members of the committee include the heads of medicine and gynaecology and two doctors from the surgery department.

The hospital also issued a circular directing that no such incident recur, he added.

Meanwhile, the Aids patient was admitted to the hospital yesterday.

Dr Choudhry said the patient was being treated under the supervision of Dr JP Gupta.

Regarding refusal of admission to the AIDS patient, he said neither the patient nor any of his attendant contacted the hospital administration about the incident. He, however, stated that there might be some strong reason behind refusal for admission to the said patient and the reason would be known after the probe.

As reports said the Aids victim after being denied admission to the hospital for over six days was forced to live under a banyan tree in the hospital campus.

After testing his blood sample positive for HIV in course of an urinary track operation at Begusarai, the doctors referred him to the PMCH where he kept on moving to the various wards for admission since April 12.

The patient, ignorant of the deadly disease, said he felt great pain when he had to move from one place to another as the pipes were still attched to his urinary track.

Meanwhile a member of Bihar network for people living with AIDS and HIV society Gyan Ranjan said the doctors in the emergency ward did not admit the patient and instead prescribed some tests. He said the attending nurses and ward boys were hesitating in administrating injections and medicines.

UNI