Rising COVID Deaths Brings Spotlight back on Fragile, Insufficient Healthcare System

GUWAHATI: News of people succumbing to COVID is once again leaving families and friends grieving, inconsolable, feeling defeated and dejected. Many are feeling let down by their own government as many have died due to lack of proper treatment.Read more

What is leaving most families and relatives anguished and hurt is the fact that many who lost their lives to COVID were denied a proper funeral or burial. It was either due to lack of sufficient crematoriums, lack of people at the crematoriums or due to mismanagement (mixing up patients' names etc) of the hospital staff.

Closer home in Assam, when Colonel Ajit Dutta lost his battle to COVID, his family felt let down. Col Dutta was among the many brave heart patriots of the Indian Army who are always ready to lay down their lives for their country and countrymen. It really hurts beyond imagination when such a warrior dies without getting proper treatment. Read more

An anguished relative of his, Dr. Navanil Barua, Director at GNRC hospital, Guwahati, and one of Assam's well-known neurosurgeons took to social media and wrote on Facebook:

"This is the last condition of my brother-in-law Colonel Ajit Dutt. May a deceased's deserved respect not happen to him. He is also deprived of proper treatment before his death.

Do you know who this person is?

In the war of 71, a small team entered Pakistan and bombed an important bridge near Lahore! Because of which Pakistan could not conduct any campaign towards Amritsar.

Look at the pathetic condition of the hero who sacrificed his life for that country!! See how unsuccessful that country is for the country to which he served like this!"

Speaking to sentinelassam.com, Dr Barua said, "we are trying hard to shift his wife, my elder sister to the Army hospital. She too is in a critical state but she is COVID negative. The Army authorities are also keen to help but they have all run out of beds. The sad fact now is that, though the Army or the doctors have the intent, they all have run out of infrastructure". Read more

It is not just about Col Dutta's death, the treatment meted out or not meted out to him. It is about every patient, COVID or non-COVID. Now of course it is more about the COVID patients but we cannot forget the other patients. The present spate of COVID deaths has once again highlighted the creaky, fragile, and insufficient healthcare system and infrastructure that India has, particularly at a time when the whole nation is fighting a pandemic. What is sad and unfortunate is that this is the second wave of COVID and it has caught us all napping. The governments, both the Central and the state are taking steps but seems like some precious time and lives have been lost.

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