The Kerala State Human Rights Commission (KSHRC) has registered a suo-moto case after the authorities of Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Alappuzha, incorrectly notified the family of a man from Bharanikavu, admitted to the intensive care unit of the hospital with COVID-19, that he had died.
KSHRC member V.K. Beenakumari on Sunday served a notice to the MCH superintendent Dr. Sajeev George Pulikkal and directed him to submit a report in two weeks.
A person named Ramanan, 72, of Krishnapuram, died on Friday afternoon. The MCH authorities intimated his relatives about his death, but also wrongly informed the family of a person from Bharanikavu with the same name. The relatives of Ramanan from Bharanikavu reached the hospital on Saturday morning to receive the body and cremate it, only to find that he is alive.
In a related incident, the MCH authorities on Friday mistakenly handed over the body of Ramanan to another family. According to sources, both Ramanan and Kumaran, the latter from Cherthala, died at the MCH on Friday. Kumaran’s family was wrongly given the body of Ramanan. When Ramanan’s relatives reached the hospital to take the body, it was nowhere to be seen. When informed about the mix-up, the relatives of Kumaran brought Ramanan’s body back to the MCH on Friday night and returned with Kumaran’s body. Ramanan’s body was later handed over to his relatives. The KSHRC has also sought a report from the superintendent on the mix-up.
It is not the first time the MCH has landed in trouble. In August, the MCH authorities failed to inform relatives about the death of two patients. After a probe into the incident, MCH Superintendent R.V. Ramlal was removed from the post.
