The Bombay High Court on Friday took note of the situation of food poisoning patients being treated on a street outside a hospital in Maharashtra’s Buldhana district and sought an affidavit from the government.
Government pleader P P Kakade informed the bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor that the hospital had a capacity of only 30 beds, yet around 150 individuals had arrived complaining of uneasiness and stomach issues.
“All the persons had food poisoning after consuming sweets from a local temple. The hospital capacity was only 30, but it had adequate staff and medicines,” Kakade stated. He further mentioned that the patients were promptly treated and discharged the following day.
“Their condition was not serious. We could not accommodate them inside the hospital and therefore treated them outside,” Kakade explained to the court.
The bench then raised concerns about what would have happened if anyone’s condition had suddenly worsened. “How far is the district hospital from the place where this incident occurred? What if some patient suffered seriously and required urgent medical care?” CJ Upadhyaya inquired.
Kakade responded, stating that the district hospital was 100 kilometers away and if any patient’s condition had deteriorated, they would have been transferred there.
The bench instructed Kakade to submit an affidavit providing these details and scheduled the matter for further hearing after ten days.
The incident occurred on Tuesday night during the ‘Harinam Saptah’, a week-long religious event, at Somthana village in Lonar taluka, as Buldhana district collector Kiran Patil stated. Media reports included images of patients receiving fluids in an open space.