Exclusive: Horrific scenes emerge from Delhi's LNJP hospital; patients unattended, bodies in waiting area
Horrific scenes from Delhi's LNJP hospital were caught on camera when India TV visited the premises on Wednesday, sparking concerns over the health infrastructure in the national capital. Inside visuals and videos of the hospital, dedicated to COVID-19 patients, show a man without clothes lying on the ground in one of the wards. On the next bed, an elderly was lying unconscious. The investigation, featured in Aaj Ki Baat, revealed that most of the patients had no saline drip on their beds. Moreover, no official was seen monitoring the patients. Even as cameras were inside for quite some time, no health official, doctor or nurse could be spotted during the period.
India TV reporters braved the challenge and went inside LNJP hospital to bring out the truth. Several families and patients India TV spoke to narrated the ordeal.
One of the videos shot at LNJP hospital shows a dead person lying close to three other patients. The patient had succumbed to COVID-19. While another one of them seemed stable, two were critical. The waiting area of the hospital too had dead bodies placed on stretchers for hours. And again, neither any health official was seen attending any of the patients, nor the dead bodies were shifted to the morgue.
The images serve a jolt as the Delhi government has been claiming that there are adequate beds and infrastructure in place. However, things on the ground appear only to be crumbling at a time when an estimate of 5.5 lakh cases by July 31 has been made by the Delhi government itself. Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal on Wednesday said about 1.5 lakh beds are needed by July 31 once people start coming from other sates for COVID-19 treatment.
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain has said that the city government will arrange 15,000 beds for COVID-19 patients by June 20. He said the Delhi government is preparing for the "foreseeable situation of June 30", and for that, preparations are being made for COVID infrastructure in stadiums, banquet halls, and hotels.
Delhi recorded 1,366 fresh cases of COVID-19 on June 9, taking the tally to 31,309, while the death toll mounted to 905, authorities said on Wednesday. There are 18,543 active cases, and 11,861 people have recovered.
Earlier today, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal instructed all major hospitals, clinics, and nursing homes in the city to put up large LED displays at their entrances to detail availability of COVID-19 and non-COVID beds. The details should also include charges for rooms or beds and the contact persons for admission.
WATCH FULL GROUND REPORT FROM LNJP HOSPITAL
