Kolkata, May 3 () Amid the raging controversy overthe actual number of COVID-19 fatalities in Bengal and theneed for a committee to audit them, the state government hasaltered the the panel's mandate and it will now not certifywhether a patient died due to coronavirus or a pre-existingailment, a senior member of the team said on Sunday.
He said now the doctors treating COVID-19 patientswill certify whether they have died of the viral disease orany other concurrent illness.
The panel formed by the state government on April 3was in the eye of a political storm, with opposition partiescalling it a government's tool to "fudge" the COVID-19 datarelated to the number of deaths and afflictions.
The West Bengal government had acknowledged onThursday that 105 Covid-19 positive patients had died in thestate till then but insisted the actual death toll from thedisease was only 33.
Citing the audit committee findings, Chief SecretaryRajiva Sinha had said 72 of the 105 deaths occurred due tosevere comorbidities (pre-existing diseases) and that Covid-19was only incidental in those cases.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the panelmember said the committee will now collect random samples fromhospitals treating infected patients and study them to findout more about the disease.
"Doctors will follow the recommendations of the auditpanel and certify whether a death was because of thecoronavirus infection or comorbidities. The experts committeewill no longer audit the deaths. It will look into thepeculiar cases of COVID-19, he told .
He said the panel had not received any fresh samplessince it submitted its report on the 105 deaths.
According to the committee member, the principalobjective of the panel was to study the death of COVID-19patients and find out more about the character of the virus.
"There are several questions in the mind of the commonpeople about the disease. As there is no study or database inthis regard, the government wanted set up a treatment andcontainment protocol to understand the symptoms... and howthat kept changing from the preliminary to aggravated stage.
"And in case of deaths, how many days did the virustake to reach that stage when the infected person finallysuccumbs," he said.
The panel, he said, has formed a list of dos anddon'ts for medical practitioners treating novel coronaviruscases and certifying deaths.
"We analysed, researched and formed a list ofrecommendations for the doctors to treat and certify deathsbecause of COVID-19," the member said.
The committee will henceforth collect samples fromhospitals for examination, and will give necessary suggestionsto the health department, if there are new findings.
"This panel will not certify any coronavirus-relateddeath. We will now go for random collection of samples fromhospitals. In case of any new or peculiar finding, we willinform the state health department and make ourrecommendations," he said.
The audit committee had earlier noted that there wasscope for improvement in medical record-keeping at COVID-19hospitals, following which Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha saidthe health department would soon issue an advisory.
"During our research we found that the deathcertificates were issued without following the norms set bythe WHO and the ICMR for COVID-19 deaths.
"The certificates should have included the immediatecause of death, antecedent cause of death and underlying causeof death. The medical record-keeping requires uniformity andthat's the responsibility of hospital authorities," thepanelist said.
An advisory, once issued by the government, willdefinitely help hospitals in understanding the character ofthe disease and how to deal with it, he said.
West Bengal has officially reported 48 deaths due toCovid-19 till Saturday.
The total number of people infected with thecoronavirus stands at 886. Of them, 624 are active cases and199 have recovered. The Union Health Ministry has put thefigure of those stricken by the disease at 922. SCH RMSSK SK