Patient flees hosp, found dead on road

Kalyan: A 50-year-old Covid -19 patient on oxygen support died after fleeing a civic-run hospital in Dombivli on Thursday night. Local residents spotted him 100 metres from Shastri Nagar hospital and alerted its staff. According to the locals, some hospital employees reached the spot in 30 minutes and took him to the hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
The incident has raised questions about how the patient could flee despite guards being posted at the hospital.
He was admitted on July 7 with breathing problem.
A passer-by, Vikas Khairnar, told TOI, “On seeing the patient I called up the hospital on its landline number but no one answered, so I went there personally.” Khairnar said it took around 30 minutes for staff to come to the spot and take the patient to the hospital.
Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation-run Shastri Nagar hospital’s chief medical officer, Suhasini Badekar, said, “Our records show our staff last checked the patient at 7.30pm, after which they were busy identifying and wrapping up the body of a Covid-19 patient. The 50-year-old patient took advantage as no one was inside the ward and fled.”
The hospital claimed they were providing proper treatment and he did not have any complaint against staff. But Dombivli activist Mahesh Nimbalkar said the patient may have tried to flee due to improper facilities and demanded action against the staff.