CHANDIGARH
Prime Minister Narendra Modi patted the UT Administration for handling the Covid situation in the city, yet there is a huge difference between decorated bureaucratic reports and ground reality. Along with many Covid management failures, UT Health Department has not taken out the Covid Death Audit Report of the first wave and second wave in the city.
The administrative mismanagement has hit Chandigarh and its people big time in this Covid second wave. People were at mercy of local philanthropists and there was no accountability on Covid deaths as well. In April, there have been 99 deaths and 264 deaths in May. Chandigarh has over 806 deaths due to Covid-19 so far yet no Covid Death Audit report is out for further planning. This is when UT Administrator V.P.S. Badnore has ordered its health department to execute Covid Death Audit in December 2020 after the first wave.
A committee was constituted for Covid Death Audit last year, this committee is supposed to have all such data and they are still in the process of doing the death audit, as per Dr V.K. Nagpal, the Medical Superintendent of GMSH 16 Health Department.
Why Covid Death Audit is important as per the GoI Covid guidelines:
Death audit means a technique or process of quantitative death record analysis and compilation of the information pertaining to the professional activities of the hospital, as well as the qualitative analysis and evaluation of the data collected. The aim is to analyse the circumstances that led to the death of the patients and what could be the possible steps that might have “prevented the death”.
The purpose for death audit in Covid positive cases
1. To ascertain that the death is primarily due to Covid-19 or due to other associated comorbid conditions.
2. Assist in litigations compensation/insurance claim in deaths of Covid-19 deceased healthcare worker. Therefore, a death audit of Covid positive cases is essential.
3. To check, whether the patient died of Covid, medical negligence or the death was prophylactic.
Covid Death Audit: As per GoI Guidelines, this also gives a fair idea of who, in terms of age group, are mostly dying due to Covid andwhich comorbidity is more fatal.
Death chart of Chandigarh
Other failures
Health Department was ordered by Punjab and Haryana High Court to provide real-time data of Covid beds, and availability of medicines. To date, the Health Department has been unable to provide real-time data on the same rather the department is sending Static Data at public disposal.
No CCTV at ICUS wards and corridors
Punjab and Haryana High Court asked UT Administration to install CCTV cameras and a Covid Control room where attendants can see their patients. It’s been two months and the UT administration has not been unable to execute the same.
