Patient’s death and Asha workers’ complaints mar BJP’s mega health camp

NAGPUR: The

Atal Arogya Shibir

, which had invited criticism from government doctors and workers who viewed it as an attempt to promote BJP, witnessed death of a patient at the camp and five ASHA workers complaining of fever. The organizers had targeted to treat around 60,000 patients, but received 42,155 registrations.

While patients were registered across all faculties, several of them had to return home without treatment, with assurances of being contacted within two days.

Jagdish Nagar resident and a heart patient Vijay Ramdas Kamble passed away at the camp. After being taken to GMCH, he was declared ‘brought dead’. A post-mortem was not conducted as the relatives took the body for funeral. “Since midnight, his health had worsened. In the morning, volunteers came and brought us here,” said Kamble’s spouse. Sources said another death had taken place in the ambulance en route to hospital. However, the details of the patient could not be obtained.

It is learnt, despite getting their address and numbers registered, patients were told to place stickers of the camp showcasing party leaders outside their homes to help doctors identify them. Teams of medical doctors from GMCH, Mayo Hospital and those from Mumbai will be visiting residences of the patients in the next two days, claimed camp organizers.

Of the 479 ASHA workers present at the camp, about five complained of having fever and one fainted at the spot. ASHA worker at Futala PHC Purnima Patil was taken to GMCH’s casualty ward and was left there unattended, claimed Nagpur District Committee president of ASHA and Group Promoter Employees Union Rajendra Sathe.

Food packets from a popular eating joint were brought for all the volunteers and doctors at the camp, but ASHA workers were served meagre proportions of rice and puris of undesirable quality after 3pm, claimed Sathe and added that demand by ASHA workers for a conveyance reimbursement of Rs100, along with Rs150 remuneration, was not fulfilled by the NMC.

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