COVID-19 patient 'thrashed' inside Rajkot Civil Hospital

Ahmedabad, September 17 

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A video has surfaced purportedly showing a coronavirus patient being thrashed by nursing staff and security personnel inside the Rajkot Civil Hospital in Gujarat.

As the video went viral on social media platforms, hospital authorities on Thursday claimed the patient was “mentally disturbed” and was being restrained, and not thrashed, to avoid inflicting injuries to himself or others in the medical facility.

कल राजकोट के सिविल अस्पताल से पैरामेडिक्स द्वारा #COVID__19 मरीज़ की पिटाई का विडिओ वायरल हुआ. बताया गया की वो अस्पताल से भागने की कोशिश कर रहा था. शाम को उसकी मौत की खबर आती है. परिवार का आरोप मौत पिटाई से हुई, अस्पताल का दावा मौत #कोरोना से हुई. आखिर सच क्या है? @indiatvnews pic.twitter.com/V4UbT6EoPH

— Nirnay Kapoor (@nirnaykapoor) September 18, 2020

In the video, shot around a week back, nursing staff in PPE kit can be seen struggling to overpower the patient lying on the floor. It was not known who shot the video.

While one person in PPE kit sits on the patient, another can be seen slapping and asking him to stay calm. A security man also uses force to control the patient.

“The staff was only trying to make sure the patient does not hurt himself or others. Though the nursing staff had asked him to behave, he did not listen to them.

“He even tried to remove his clothes. Thus, the staff tried hard to restrain him and take him back to his bed,” said hospital superintendent Dr Pankaj Buch. PTI