Prayagraj Authority asks juice hospital to shut down

The Prayagraj Development Authority has asked a private hospital, which allegedly administered fruit juice to a dengue patient who later died, to shut down by Friday. The authority said the building was 'illegally constructed' and could be demolished, according to new agencies.

The Global Hospital and Trauma Centre was sealed last week on the direction of health minister Brajesh Pathak and blood platelet packets used were sent for testing. The ill-fated patient required eight units of blood platelets, but the hospital could provide only for three. The relatives of the patient arranged for five more packets of blood platelets from a different facility. The hospital management has claimed that the condition of the patient worsened after using the ones brought by the patient's relatives.

The police arrested 10 people for selling fake platelets, following the incident. Prayagraj SSP Shailendra Pandey said the accused procured blood plasma from blood banks, as hospitals do not ask for donors to substitute plasma. The accused would then stick platelet labels on the blood plasma packets and sell them to people whom they find outside blood banks urgently looking for blood platelets.