Safdarjung Hospital releases list of 52 virus-related deaths

Official figures show only 4 deaths at the hospital till May 13

Safdarjung Hospital has sent a list of 52 COVID-19 deaths, which occurred at the facility over the past two months, to the Death Audit Committee, said top Delhi government officials. The hospital had been issued multiple reminders to release the data.

The hospital’s medical superintendent, Balvinder Singh, said that officials of the Delhi government are constantly changing their data collection teams due to which there has been “miscommunication” among its own staffers. The Delhi government’s health bulletin showed that only four COVID-19 deaths happened at the hospital till May 13.

The Delhi government has been facing allegations of under-reporting fatalities. It has said that all hospitals send death reports to an audit panel which sifts through the data and certifies as COVID-19 deaths only those that fulfill criteria mentioned in the Indian Council of Medical Research guidelines.

The Delhi government has maintained that the mismatch in death figures is due to audit of the data on deaths not sent earlier by hospitals.

Meanwhile, the Safdarjung Hospital has filed a police complaint with the Cyber Crime Cell over a viral audio clip of a conversation between two unidentified men who claim that the death count due to COVID-19 at the hospital is much higher than being reported by the hospital. “This is totally fake, fabricated audio clip and is aimed at spreading panic,’’ said a senior hospital official.

One of the men in the clip claims he is associated with the Safdarjung Hospital.

The hospital authorities added that the exact figures of admissions, in-patients, and the deceased are reported on a daily basis and that there is nothing to hide.

“We are a government hospital and have high standards of accountability. Such kind of messages break the morale of the staff who are working under great strain to provide the best care to the infected and other patients,” added a hospital official.