Man struggles for help at Covid-19 ward, dies after being ignored

SUNGAI PETANI: A frail old man crawls on the floor, reaches to a bed as he tries to stand up but soon collapses – with no one coming to help.

That is the scene, supposedly from a hospital ward in Kedah, that has gone viral, causing an uproar among netizens. 

The man is said to have been left on the floor unattended until he breathed his last 40 minutes later.

In a series of videos, the feeble man was seen trying to stand up by holding on to a bed stand of another patient, in what appeared to be a Covid-19 ward.

The video then abruptly cuts to the man lying on the floor motionless, with his urine bag on one side. The incident is said to have taken place in a government hospital, given that all other patients around him were in green gowns typically used at such a facility.

An accompanying message claimed that another patient had alerted a nurse on duty, only to be told to “check whether he was alive or not”.

A message also read that the man collapsed and lay there for 40 minutes and no one had come to help. The man was apparently declared dead later.

A Kedah health official told FMT the matter was being investigated and more information would be given later.

FMT has also contacted the Kedah health committee chairman Dr Mohd Hayati Othman for comment.

Meanwhile, a doctor who claimed knowledge of the incident said it took place at the old Sungai Petani Hospital which has been turned into a full Covid-19 facility.

He said the patient was likely in a category three to four ward – where those with lung infections and requiring oxygen supply were treated.

He said the present protocol required all medical staff working in the ward to wear full protective clothing before entering such a facility and one could not attend to the patient right away.

He said it was likely the patient had stopped using the oxygenator, leading to hypoxia or lack of oxygen in the blood.

FMT