Hospital staff restrained the patient to stop him from injuring himself or others (Representational)
The Gujarat government on Tuesday defended "restraining" of a COVID-19 patient suffering from "delirium" by staff members of Rajkot civil hospital.
Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel told the Legislative Assembly that a "false impression was created that the patient was thrashed, which is not true".
"The 38-year-old patient was suffering from a mental condition called delirium and may have injured himself or other patients if he was not restrained," he said.
The issue was raised in the House by senior Congress MLA Punja Vansh.
The Congress leader was referring to a recent video showing nursing staff and security personnel of the hospital purportedly beating a coronavirus patient.
Hospital authorities had earlier claimed the patient was "mentally disturbed" and was restrained, and not thrashed, to stop him from injuring himself or others.
The clip shows nursing staff in PPE kits struggling to overpower the patient who was lying on the floor inside the hospital.
While one person wearing PPE kit sits on the patient, another can be seen slapping him and asking him to stay calm.
A security man was seen using force to control the patient.
Nitin Patel, who handles the health portfolio, said the patient was also suffering from kidney-related ailments.
"He was admitted in the civil hospital on September 8. On the morning of September 9, the patient suddenly tried to attack the nurses and another patient sleeping on an adjoining bed. He was uttering meaningless words and also roaming in the ward after removing his cloths," said Mr Patel.
"To stop him, nursing staff, doctors and security personnel tried hard to restrain him. The patient fell during the chaos. But, a false impression was created that he was thrashed, which was not true," he said.
The deputy chief minister further said that psychiatrists checked the patient and diagnosed him with "delirium".