AJYCP members on Monday burnt an effigy of the Assam health department at Mithapukhuri Road in Jorhat as a mark of protest.

The Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) members statged protest alleging that several people have died across the state due to “lack of medical treatment” at hospitals and medical centres during Covid times.

The protesters alleged that several deaths in recent days have taken place due to the alleged practice of not attending to patients brought to hospitals in critical conditions until Covid19 results are out.

The protesters, holding placards shouted slogans against the government following a “faulty policy” of keeping patients with serious ailments brought to hospitals unattended until the Covid19 test results are out which led to loss of many lives.

The protesters said in several cases the results of patients brought in serious condition had turned out later to be Covid19 negative.

They demanded that the government take necessary measures in the hospitals to provide urgent treatment to patients in serious health conditions like cardiac arrest, stroke, accident cases, fire accident victims and other ailments of grave nature.

The protestors said the serious general patients should be treated without waiting for the Covid19 test results, both in private and government hospitals.

Last week, a group of citizens of Jorhat sent a memorandum to the Assam chief minister and the health minister seeking their intervention for providing immediate and adequate medical treatment people in serious condition.

Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma during his visit to JMCH on July 18 observed that in view of Covid19 infections on rise among doctors and employees at JMCH, a separate isolation ward should be set up for all patients coming to the hospital for emergency treatment to contain the spread.

The minister suggested that patients should be first isolated and doctors wearing PPE kits should examine them.

He also said the patients should be tested for Covid19 infections, the results of which should be given as early as possible.

Smita Bhattacharyya is Northeast Now Correspondent in Jorhat. She can be reached at: [email protected]