The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to take stringent action against Paras Hospital in Agra after an old video of the proprietor of a private hospital admitting to having snapped the oxygen supply to critical patients on the 26th of April went viral on social media recently. The state government has not only given orders to seal the facility but also asked authorities to register an FIR against the hospital under the Epidemic Diseases Act.
#JustIn | Agra’s Paras Hospital sealed by UP Govt where several patients died after hospital authorities allegedly snapped Oxygen supply for a ‘mock drill’; case registered under Pandemic Act.
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) June 8, 2021
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The action against the hospital was taken after the matter showcasing the hospital’s laxity, leading to the death of 22 patients, came to light when the video to that effect surfaced on social media sites.
According to reports, the process of sealing the hospital would commence once all the 55 patients currently housed in the facility are shifted to another hospital.
Viral video shows Agra hospital owner admitting he switched off oxygen of critical patients
Earlier in the day, OpIndia reported on a viral video. In the video, the owner of Paras Hospital Dr Arinjay Jain is heard telling some people that he had asked the hospital authorities to conduct an experiment or a “mock drill” to ascertain which patient was in actual need of oxygen since there is an acute shortage of medical oxygen and the patients’ family members were not ready to discharge their patients despite multiple requests.
“I decided to perform an experiment/mock drill since we were experiencing a severe oxygen shortage and Modinagar had run out of it. People were refusing to release their patients despite repeated requests. So on April 26, at 7 am, we cut off the oxygen supply for five minutes.
Soon after, 22 patients’ bodies turned blue and they began gasping for air, indicating that they would not live if oxygen was not available. Then we asked the remaining 74 patients’ families to arrange their own oxygen cylinders”, Arinjay Jain, owner of Paras Hospital, who is not visible in the purported video, was heard saying.
State authorities assured action against Paras Hospital if video is confirmed to be genuine
When asked, the chief medical officer of the Agra district, Dr RC Pandey, had said that they have taken cognisance of the video and a committee has been constituted to investigate the issue.
UP Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh had also confirmed receiving the complaint and had assured that the state administration would look into the video and take necessary action against the hospital if the video is confirmed to be genuine.
