Admin mess at SMHS: Two test positive after remaining in hospital for over a day

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A patient referred to SMHS from CD for tracheostomy remained on ventilator for days, sent back to CD hospital after testing positive

SRINAGAR: The failure of administration at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital  Srinagar has put dozens of staff members at a great risk of catching deadly virus as two patients, who tested positive for COVID on Friday, were kept in ICU and Ward 10 of the hospital for more than a day.

Official sources told News  Agency—Kashmir  News Observer (KNO), that two patients—one of them a female from Habba Kadal area of Srinagar was referred to ICU from ENT department. “She was put on ventilator and her samples were taken that came positive today. In the ICU, most of the staff is without Personal Protective Equipment (PPE),” a source in the ICU revealed.

Similarly, another patient who was referred from Chest Diseases hospital to SMHS for tracheostomy was kept in Ward 10 also known as Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) overnight. He is from South Kashmir’s Anantnag district and has been identified as Ghulam Rasool. What is more shocking is that when his test came as positive for COVID, he was again shifted back to CD clandestinely.

The two back to back positive cases has triggered a fresh fear among the staff members at ICU and Ward 10, who stated that due to the “negligence of hospital administration, hundreds of staff members have been exposed to a great risk of catching the pandemic.”

A staff member, speaking on the condition of anonymity said that  SMHS hospital is in total mess and the mismanagement is taking toll over precious lives of patients, attendants and even the medical staff. 

Talking to KNO, Dr Rukhsana Najeeb,  Head Of the Department (HoD) of Anesthesia department, said that a patient was kept in ICU. “Her reports came positive after two days of taking samples. She was in shock and dying. We saved her life,” she said.

About the possible contact tracing, she said, its administration  to see and to ensure safety of health workers including doctors. “I have provided them safety equipments so that they remain protected,” she said.