Covid patient falls to death in Faridkot hospital

FARIDKOT: A covid-19 patient, Avtar Singh, undergoing treatment at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot has died after falling from the bathroom at the building’s first floor on Friday night. A 46-yearold man from Thathi Bhai village in Moga district, was admitted to the hospital on August 28. The authorities say he fell by accident.

“The man was going to the bathroom from his bed when he accidentally fell from the first floor of the Mother and Child Block building, which has been converted into a covid isolation facility. He was found dead on the ground floor,” a source in the hospital.

The victim’s son Surinder Singh said, “When the SHO and the tehsildar reached the hospital, they informed us that our patient had died after falling from the 1st floor through the area from where sewerage pipes are connected to all the floors. The hospital staff had tried to hide it from us for more than a two hours.”

The family has submitted a letter to deputy commissioner Vimal Kumar Setia alleging negligence by the hospital, and sought a judicial inquiry. They have also filed a complaint with Faridkot City police station.

When questioned on the possible cause of the accident, medical superintendent of the hospital Dr Rajiv Joshi said, “Ask the engineer who built the building.”