Odisha: National Human Rights Commission summons health secretary over negligence cry

BHUBANESWAR: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued conditional summons to state health secretary to appear before it on June 30 over allegation of Covid care mismanagement and lackadaisical attitude in submitting requisite reports to the commission.
The rights panel passed this order on April 19 while hearing a petition filed by activist Radhakanta Tripathy on September 17 last year. The petitioner had alleged that two persons had died due to inaction and negligence of doctors and staff at the district headquarters hospital (DHH) in Dhenkanal.
Tripathy said Susant Prusty from Nadhara village under Odapada block in Dhenkanal district had suffered a heart attack on September 14 after knowing that he wad tested positive. He collapsed on the hospital verandah due to the negligence of medical staff and lay unattended by doctors. In a similar incident, Kishor Chandra Sahoo of Dhenkanal town, who had respiratory problems, died due to delayed supply of oxygen and nebuliser by the hospital authorities on April 29 last year, Tripathy had alleged.
The petitioner had prayed before the NHRC to intervene in such type of sensitive issues so that lives can be saved. On December 3 last year, the commission had directed health secretary to submit requisite report in the case within four weeks failing which the commission said it would invoke coercive power, calling for personal appearance of the authority concerned before the rights panel.
Tripathy said the authorities did not submit the report despite enough time granted by the rights panel.

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