Guj Hospital Earns Moniker of 'Covid-19 Graveyard' After Reporting Nearly 50% of All Deaths in State

Nearly 50 per cent of the total coronavirus infection deaths in Gujarat so far have been reported from the Ahmedabad civil hospital, earning it the dubious distinction of being the 'COVID-19 graveyard'.

Out of the total 749 COVID-19 deaths reported across Gujarat so far, as many as 351 patients succumbed to the disease in the Ahmedabad civil hospital located in Aswara area, as per the data shared by the city civic body.

This is more than 46% casualty rate of the total cases till now.

The other government facilities where coronavirus patients are being treated in Ahmedabad are the Sola civil hospital and the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (SVP) Hospital.

The main civil hospital, located in Asarwa area, is considered as one of the biggest civic-run medical facilities in Asia. It has allotted 1,200 beds to treat COVID-19 patients.

Till Wednesday, 351 COVID-19 patients died at the civil hospital in Aswara while 338 have so far been discharged from there after recovery, according to data provided by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.

Besides, 120 patients died in SVP Hospital while 935 have been given discharge from there. At Sola civil hospital, 29 COVID-19 patients have so far died and 53 have recovered from the disease.

Congress MLA from Ahmedabad Gyasuddin Shaikh on Tuesday raised questions on the high mortality and low discharge rate at the civil hospital, and sought the intervention of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in the matter.

In a letter to the NHRC, Shaikh alleged that negligence and improper treatment given to COVID-19 patients in the Ahmedabad civil hospital is leading to high number of deaths.