Lucknow:

A private hospital in Uttar Pradesh where a dengue patient died allegedly after he was transfused fruit juice instead of blood platelets faces a bulldozer threat. A demolition notice has been served to the Global Hospital and Trauma Centre in Prayagraj for unauthorised construction.

The hospital was built without permission and it must be vacated by Friday, the notice said. The hospital was sealed last week after a preliminary enquiry revealed lapses on the part of its authorities. There are no patients there anymore.

The hospital authorities did not reply to the earlier notices in this regard and a demolition order was passed earlier this year, the notice said.

The family of the 32-year-old dengue patient had alleged that the hospital supplied sweet lime (mosambi) juice in a bag marked “plasma”. The patient’s health deteriorated after transfusion from the bag and he died after he was shifted to another hospital, his relatives alleged.

They claimed the doctors at the second hospital told them the disputed platelet bag contained a mix of chemicals and something sweet like mosambi juice.

But a medical report on whether the dispute platelet bag contained juice has not been made public.

The patient’s family had also demanded the state government to take strict action against the hospital staff.

Meanwhile, a day after the dengue patient’s death, Prayagraj police busted a gang that supplied “fake platelets” and arrested 10 men. They used to take plasma from blood banks and repackage them as platelets (both components of the blood), police had said.