MAIMANA (Pajhwok): Health officials in northwestern Faryab province say Covid-19 Treatment Center in the province misdiagnosed patients infected with the virus and that caused many of the patients to be referred to the provincial zonal hospital while some lost their lives.
Faryab Zonal Hospital officials say that they faced shortage of beds and oxygen due to high number of patients and people injured in war and accidents also are admitted to the hospital while referral of Covid-19 patients had added to their problem.
GhulamSakhiHalim, in charge of emergency ward in Faryab Zonal Hospital, told Pajhwok Afghan News that patients with clear signs of Covid-19 were misdiagnosed by the Covid-19 Treatment Center and their results were shown negative.
He said that some patients who were in critical situation had died. “Patients who the Covid-19 Treatment Center tested negative are referred to the zonal hospital, the signs of these patients clearly indicate that they are Covid-19 positive.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Abdul Hadi, another doctor in Faryab Zonal hospital, held similar views. He said that Covid-19 Treatment Center wrongly tested Covid-19 patients who were then referred to the zonal hospital for treatment.
“We had patients whose Covid-19 tests were shown negative and their condition worsened and finally died,” he added.
“The coronavirus test of a 31 years old man in Covid-19 Treatment Center was reported negative, but his second test was positive and he is now hospitalized with us,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr. FawziaSalimi, head of Faryab Zonal Hospital, endorsed the complaints of doctors in the hospital and said that many patients’ first test was reported negative but a second test of them was reported positive while most of them had died.
She said that the problem of two tests with different results should be identified whether it was related to PCR or something else.
Mohammad Naim, father of one of patients who died of Covid-19, told Pajhwok that the first test of his son was reported negative but his second test was reported positive when he was in critical situation.
He said he for the second time visited Covid-19 Treatment Center but he was referred to the zonal hospital.
However, Dr. Mohammad ZamanAzami, head of Covid-19 Treatment Center in Maimana city, the provincial capital, said that they first sent the test of a patient to PCR and if the test was positive, the patient is admitted for two weeks, but if a patient result comes negative, then they are referred to the zonal hospital.
He added they conducted 4,000 tests last month and 920 of them were positive, 170 hospitalized while 21 people died.
Azami said that PCR was the most credible diagnostic center on the world level but if people still had doubts, they could examine it with tests. If the result was proven wrong, then a decision about PCR would be taken, he added.
This comes as a number of patients in the zonal hospital sleep in the hall of the hospital while some others in their cars and rickshaws outside of the hospital due to shortage of beds.
Pajhwok tried to contact Faryab Zonal Hospital officials and Covid-19 Treatment Center officials about the death of some patients, but failed.
Mds/ma
Views: 67