Agra hospital sealed over 'mock oxygen drill' video

District administration in Agra has sealed Paras hospital after a video of its owner went viral in which he is purportedly talking of "mock drill". Kin of the patients who were undergoing treatment at the hospital are facing problems as they have been told to shift their patients to other hospitals.

Agra (Uttar Pradesh): The Agra administration has sealed a private hospital in the city after a video of its owner went viral in which he is purportedly talking of "mock drill" and admitting that he had on April 26 got the oxygen supply of critical patients stopped for five minutes as an "experiment to know who all are going to survive." Uttar Pradesh health department has also initiated a probe.

A two-man inquiry committee has been set up by the district administration to investigate allegations against the controversy shrouding the hospital. The committee will give its report in two days.

The kin of the patients who were undergoing treatment at the hospital, said they are facing problems as they have been told to shift their patients to other hospitals. Lal Kumar Chouhan, the attendant of a patient at Paras Hospital questioned, "Our patient was admitted here 15 days ago and there's no improvement in the condition. We have been asked to sign the patient's discharge document in order to receive the file. We don't know where to take the patient now. Agra is a small city. There are no other options available. Most of the hospitals in the city are full and those which have beds are charging too much. In such a condition, how will our patient get treatment?"

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"My father underwent surgery on Monday and he is still recovering. In this critical condition, where do I take him? I urge the administration to give us some time," said Mohit Chaudhary, the attendant of another patient at the hospital. Meanwhile, Dr Arinjay Jain, the owner of Agra's Paras Hospital, who is at the centre of the controversy, said that news reports of 22 deaths are baseless and he is ready to cooperate with any investigation. He said the period relates to the wave of COVID-19 at its peak.

Agra District Magistrate Prabhu N Singh said that the video was of April which went viral on June 7. "As per the official records, the hospital had an adequate supply of oxygen. As of now, 55 COVID patients are admitted to the hospital who have been asked to shift to another hospital. The hospital has been sealed for further probe," he said. "In a small city like Agra, there would an outcry if 22 patients die at a hospital. No patients died due to oxygen shortage that day," he added.

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(With ANI inputs)