COVID-19 Pune: Two deaths reported from jumbo hospital at COEP; PMC officials say patients brought in ‘late’

COVID-19 Pune: Two deaths reported from jumbo hospital at COEP; PMC officials say patients brought in ‘late’

Pune: The jumbo healthcare facility set up at the College of Engineering Pune (COEP) has recorded its first two deaths due to COVID-19 on Sunday (August 30). While the centre is not operating at full capacity and supply of oxygen is still interrupted due to which patients are not being admitted, health officials of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) said that the deceased patients were brought in 'late' at the centre, much after their condition became critical.

The deceased include a male and a female patient. PMC officials were unaware of the 'history' of one of the two deceased patients. No one had any clue about from where he landed up at the jumbo centre or who brought him, whose ambulance was used to bring him to the centre.


A Jumbo COVID Center has been set up at the College of Engineering Pune (COEP) premises in Shivajinagar to provide ventilators and oxygenated beds equipped treatment facility to COVID-19 patients in Pune city on time. The facility, which has about 800 hospital beds, started functioning on Wednesday. After the inauguration, patients started coming to the centre. However, due to the interrupted supply of oxygen, the civic officials continued to delay the admission of patients. This caused great distress to the patients and their relatives. Some patients have been admitted in the jumbo facility for the last two days, but they were not provided with oxygenated beds and ventilators. Therefore, the entire purpose of this centre has been defeated.

The woman and man, who were taken to the centre Sunday (August 30) afternoon in the hope of getting a hospital bed and treatment, but they did not receive simple treatment in time. These emergency patients from the ambulance were not examined by any doctor. In the ensuing minutes, the critically ill died on the spot. After that, all the officials, including the municipal health chief, continued to shirk their responsibilities.

The PMC officials were in the dark about these incidents even after the death of the patients were reported. The officials did not know the 'medical history' of the deceased patients. When contacted, PMC's Health Chief Dr Ramchandra Hankare refused to comment saying he was checking the files in his office.

The jumbo facility was inaugurated last week by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Thackeray and Pawar had appreciated the facilities created at the centre. However, five days after the centre was started, none of the patients has been treated properly. There are several complaints that patients are not even admitted for treatment.

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