60-year-old dies on road waiting for ambulance in Thane

THANE: A 60-year-old man, who had tested positive for Covid-19, collapsed in the middle of the road in Thane’s Wagle Estate allegedly waiting for an ambulance late on Tuesday.
The patient lived in the congested Shivaji Nagar area and was down with fever since Monday. “He had taken a Covid-19 test at a private lab whose results were awaited. On Tuesday morning, he started feeling uneasy so his family took him to Kalwa municipal hospital.But as the facility is for non-Covid patients, he was referred to Thane Civil Hospital which insisted on a positive report to admit him,” said a local politician.
The family returned home. But by evening, his health started deteriorating and his family called for an ambulance. The man, who was gasping for breath, decided to wait on the road. By then his test report arrived declaring him Covid-19 positive. Even as the family panicked, the ambulance arrived, but as it was ‘ill-equipped’ for a Covid patient, the staff refused to handle him. A local said he collapsed on the road even as people watched helplessly. Several minutes later, a ‘well-equipped’ ambulance arrived and the staff announced him dead. “He could have been saved if he had got prompt medical attention,” said a neighbour. Civil surgeon Kailash Pawar and said he will probe the incident, even as deputy municipal commissioner Sandeep Malvi said the civic body will look into the delay in medical attention.