The Health Department has launched a probe into an incident in which a COVID-19 patient was shifted to a hospital from a domiciliary care centre on a motorcycle at Punnapra in Alappuzha on Friday morning.
The incident came to the light after the video of the seriously ill patient being transported on the bike by two PPE kit wearing persons went viral on social media.
Watch | In Alappuzha, a COVID patient is transported in a motorcycle
"He started to experience breathlessness around 9 a.m. As there was no ambulance or other facilities, volunteers took him to the Punnapra Cooperative Hospital on the motorbike of another COVID-19 patient," said Vishnu P., a COVID-19 patient at the domiciliary care centre who witnessed the incident.
He was later taken to the General Hospital, Alappuzha for better treatment.
The patient reached the care centre on Thursday due to a lack of facilities to observe quarantine in his home.
Following the incident, District Collector A. Alexander directed the District Medical Officer (DMO) L. Anithakumari to conduct an investigation and submit a report.
"The domiciliary care centre at the Punnapra Engineering College is run by the grama panchayat. Neither the panchayat call centre nor COVID-19 helpline numbers in the district received any call from the centre for help. As the patient’s condition worsened, those at the centre became panicked and volunteers appointed by the grama panchayat immediately took him to the hospital without wasting time. As only patients with mild symptoms are lodged in domiciliary care centres, no doctors or other medical facilities are available in these centres," Ms. Anithakumari said.
The DMO said that she had shared her preliminary findings with the district collector.
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