COVID-19 affected doctor pleads for drug on WhatsApp group

Both PG doctors who tested positive removed from Whatsapp group by CMCH Medical Superintendent

15/04/2020, WILSON THOMAS,COIMBATORE

A post-graduate medical student of the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) who tested positive for COVID-19 was removed from a WhatsApp group of doctors on Monday after he pleaded for hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug recommended for the treatment.

After the Medical Superintendent of CMCH removed the PG student from the WhatsApp group, a screenshot of the chat which was taken by someone from the group was circulated among the medical fraternity, drawing wide criticism.

The PG student who pleaded for the drug in the group and another PG student tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday. They reportedly contracted the disease while performing their duty in the COVID-19 ward at the Government Medical College and ESI Hospital recently.

The two PGs were members of the WhatsApp group in which doctors from CMCH and ESI Hospital are members. They were shifted to the COVID-19 ward at ESI Hospital on Monday evening and one of them asked for hydroxychloroquine at 7.45 p.m. Within minutes, he was removed from the group.

A senior official with ESI Hospital said the doctors were given the drug immediately after the request was raised in the group.

‘Removal only incidental’

While only one of the two PG doctors made the appeal on Whatsapp, both of them who tested positive were removed from the group.

When contacted, CMCH Medical Superintendent T. Sadagopan, also the admin of the group, said he was removing the PG doctors from the group to make it an exclusive group of teachers when the request for drug was being made. Therefore, the removal of these two persons was merely incidental, he said.

R. Narayanababu, Director of Medial Education, Tamil Nadu, who visited CMCH on Tuesday enquired with Dr. Sadagopan about the incident. The DME also instructed the hospital administration to make necessary arrangements for the functioning of the hostel mess for PG students and house surgeons, the staff of which vacated the place after the two PGs tested positive on Monday. He also instructed the CMCH administration to conduct COVID-19 test for all the post-graduate students and house surgeons.

PG students and house surgeons had alleged that the CMCH administration did not provide them breakfast and lunch on time on Tuesday and dinner on Monday.

Meanwhile, the gents’ hostel at CMCH was fumigated on Tuesday as the two PGs who tested positive had visited the place prior to being admitted to hospital.