An unfortunate incident has come to light as ants fed on wounds and bed sores of a 30-year-old man in a Koriya district hospital, 350km north of Raipur for two days before he died at a government hospital in Chhattisgarh. In a video acquired by NDTV, ants can be seen crawling on his bandaged arm. The medical staff has, however, denied allegations of medical negligence.
The man, who also hand injuries on his head, was found unconscious outside a primary health centre in Manendragarh, but no one bothered to admit him to hospital for treatment. When lawmaker Shyambihari Jaiswal intervened, he was given primary care and sent to the Baikunthpur district hospital in a government ambulance on June 28. The man had several injuries, the doctors said.
When media got to know about the man, they reached the hospital and were horrified to find ants swarming over his wounds. A local human rights activist, who had informed them, said that ants fed on his wounds for at least two days. The patient was not in a position to speak. He died on Monday.
A local human rights activist, who had informed them, said that ants fed on his wounds for at least two days. The patient was not in a position to speak. He died on Monday after staying in the hospital for 12 days.
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The video accessed by NDTV showed the man on a hospital bed. He was given glucose intravenously. The doctors said that glucose could have attracted ants to his bed sores, but denied negligence in his death.
The hospital management has no information about his family or friends.
Dr Mukesh Kumar Hela, resident medical officer, said, “It’s monsoon and ants are everywhere, even at our homes. There may have been one or two ants on his arm. There were no attendants and we are unable to pay too much attention to a single patient. We had given him glucose which is sweet in nature so the ants must have climbed the bed because of that. But there was no negligence on our part.”
The police are yet to be informed.