Ahmedabad, May 31: A negligence by a staff member of the government-run Ahmedabad civil hospital caused confusion about the status of a patient who had died as COVID-19 suspect. A person from the Ahmedabad civil hospital called a family and told them that their relative was COVID-19 negative and should be shifted to the general ward. The family was left in shock as they had cremated his dead body 24 hours ago. It led to confusion about whether the patient is dead or alive. Gujarat COVID-19 Death Toll Crosses 1,000, 412 New Cases.

Devrambhai Mahangubhai Bhisikar wad admitted to the Ahmedabad civil hospital in critical condition on May 28. According to the hospital, Devrambhai had fever, cough and was facing breathing issues. His swab was taken and sent for testing for coronavirus. On May 29, Devrambhai died and his dead body wrapped in a cover was handed over to his family members. "He died as COVID suspect. Hence the dead body disposal was done as per protocol," the hospital said. Gujarat Man Bites Snake After Being Bitten By It, Both Die.

Devrambhai was cremated and only two members of his family attended the last rites. On May 30, the family recieved a call from the hospital and the called said that Devrambhai was COVID-19 negative and recovering. The family was baffled because they had cremated his dead body. It later turned out that Devrambhai had indeed died and the person who called was unaware of the fact. "COVID negative report was recieved after (Devrambhai's) death at late night and control room person tried to contact patient relative, as to inform the report," the hospital said,

"It was mistake of the person, who informed the relative without checking patient's status and asked them to facilitate shifting of patient on basis of negative report," the hospital claimed. In short, Devrambhai's coronavirus negative report came after he had died. The person in control room did not check Devrambhai's status and called his family informing about his negative report. This led to confusion among Devrambhai's family.

Here's How Events Unfolded And Confusion Prevailed Due to by Ahmedabad Government Hospital:

This is not an isolated incident when such negligence has been noticed. There have been several incidents where medical apathy was on display in Gujarat. Earlier, Ganpat Makwana, a 67-year-old resident of Ahmedabad’s Rohit Patel Colony who tested positive for COVID-19, was found dead at a bus stop about a kilometre from his home.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 31, 2020 04:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).