Hyderabad journo's death prompts questions on Telangana's COVID-19 handling

For any journalist covering the COVID-19 pandemic, the worst nightmare is becoming the story. Hyderabad-based crime reporter D. Manoj Kumar turned into one when the 33-year-old, who was working for a Telugu news channel, died on June 7 after contracting COVD-19. He had a cardiac arrest after spending more than two days in the Intensive Care Unit (UCU) of Gandhi hospital, exclusively reserved for COVID-19 patients.

A day later, a video recorded by the brother of the deceased, D. Sainath, in the same hospital, went viral. In the six-minute video, which was shot on the same day his brother died, Sainath narrated the sequence of events. He alleged that the hospital management was unresponsive and delayed treatment in crucial hours.

On May 3 morning, Manoj exhibited fever, following which his brother took him to a government hospital. In the afternoon, both underwent COVID-19 tests though Sainath was asymptomatic. Late evening, they got a call from the hospital authorities that they tested positive for the virus. They were asked to report immediately. By midnight, they were admitted in Gandhi hospital. According to Sainath, their harrowing time began immediately. 

“He was finding it difficult to breathe. I tried to call for some help, but I was told by the maintenance people that I should not venture out and the doctor will see the patient in the morning,” he said through the video.  

The next morning Manoj's condition worsened and his condition of breathlessness aggravated, said Sainath. “My brother contacted his friends who are journalists. They put a lot of pressure on hospital authorities and even contacted the higher-ups. I tried requesting the staff to do something about my brother’s condition, but it went in vain. Finally, a doctor came at 12 noon. He said that Manoj will be shifted to ICU. I was so relieved and happy that finally he will get some proper treatment,” Sainath told THE WEEK.

However, Sainath alleged that for the next four hours, none of the hospital staff shifted him to the ICU, while Manoj kept struggling and frequently complained of breathlessness. “At around 3pm he literally pleaded with me to do something. I was so helpless that I cried. The staff was not cooperative and delayed the treatment. Finally, at around 3.30pm, I scolded the nursing staff and sought to know what is the problem. They said there are no beds available in ICU. They even said that oxygen cylinders are not available,” shared Sainath. 

He said that he was finally wheeled into the ICU after he pulled up the staff again. In the words of Sainath, the ordeal did not end as he was made to wait for one more hour in the ICU and during this time his brother texted him, “ICU is not good…pls will go to private hospital..no response from them.. please let us go.”

By 6pm or 7pm, he was given oxygen supply and the doctors told that his condition improved, said Sainath. On June 5 and 6, Manoj continued to be in the hospital while texting his brother and friends occasionally. On June 7 morning, Sainath was told that Manoj was put on ventilator support as his condition was critical. After some time, he got a call from a police official who informed him about brother’s death and sought details about the family and their address.

The hospital authorities released a statement following his death in which his underlying health condition was highlighted. "Manoj was already suffering from Myasthenia Gravis, in which all the muscles will have weakness, including respiratory muscles. For this he had surgery also [his thymus gland was removed], and he is on steroids for that condition. He had bilateral pneumonia with type 1 respiratory failure and ARDS,” read the statement of superintendent, A. Raja Rao.

When asked about his brother’s condition, Sainath replied, “My brother underwent surgery last year and he was taking medicines. But he was fit and fine. In fact, he would go walking every morning and hit the gym in the evening.”

Sainath immediately raises questions for the hospital administration, “If they want to shrug off the responsibility, they can. But the fact is that our medical history was not recorded for at least a day. Why did they not do that? They did not even know he had that condition and gave some vitamin supplements. For four hours, they did not take my brother to ICU while his condition deteriorated,” he added, “They say even a second is important for a patient, but they wasted four precious hours in the case of my brother by denying him oxygen.”

Sainath has been discharged from the hospital and is in home quarantine. He says he has to take care of the family which includes his ageing parents. Manoj leaves behind a pregnant wife. Tragedy struck the family earlier too when Manoj’s sister and brother-in-law died in a road accident. This particular case has been widely discussed in the public domain as these allegations come in the backdrop of the state government claiming that Gandhi is a role-model hospital equipped with the best infrastructure. 

Despite repeated efforts, the hospital authorities could not be reached for a comment on the allegations levied against them.