Saifee Hospital calls the cops as Eman Ahmed's sister gives her water

Doctors and officials from Abu Dhabi visited Eman Ahmed yesterday

The tiff between Eman Ahmed's sister, Shaimaa, and doctors at Saifee Hospital worsened on Thursday, with the hospital calling the police on Shaimaa as she tried to feed a few drops of water to Eman, something that is risky for her since her throat is paralysed.

Unsupervised feeding could cause the water to go into her lungs. Shaimaa claimed the hospital did not warn her of this, but Saifee insisted it had.

Also read: Maharashtra Health Minister criticises Eman Ahmed's sister

"On April 11, Dr Muffazal Lakdawala sent me a text message saying that he gave chocolates to Eman and that made her happy. So, when Eman was asking for water today, I gave her a few drops of it. But I didn't know it would lead to so much trouble," Shaimaa told mid-day.

Eman Ahmed with her sister Shaimaa at their home in Egypt

Guards call on COO
When security guards present at her room saw Shaimaa feeding Eman, they quickly informed Huzefa Shehabi, the COO of Saifee Hospital, who then came to her room to speak to Shaimaa. However, she allegedly refused to listen to his pleas.

Also read - Mumbai: Now, Eman Ahmed's mother levels shocking allegations against Dr Lakdawala and Saifee Hospital

"Eman can't drink water as she could aspirate and the water could go to her lungs. When I requested her not to feed her water, she called me crazy. She became very abusive," said Shehabi. He then wrote about the incident to the Egyptian consulate, asking them to request Shaimaa to follow the doctors' orders, as violation can prove fatal.

Then, the hospital security called the police.

Cops arrive, and leave
"Our police station received calls from the hospital, saying the patient's sister tried to feed her water, which was not permitted by the treating doctors. So, a few of our officers went to the hospital as asked," said Sanjay Kamble, senior officer, VP Road police station. The police came in and asked Shaimaa if Eman could talk, to which she replied in the negative. They left soon after.

"If anything happens to Eman while she is staying in India, it would affect the image of the Indian medical fraternity. So, we have to be very careful," said Shehabi. Shaimaa claims Eman used to eat solid food in Egypt. "She could eat solid food in Egypt. Then what happened to her here that she can't even drink water? I wasn't told that she couldn't drink at all," said Shaimaa.

Also read - Eman Ahmed's story comes undone: Sister levels shocking allegations against Mumbai surgeon

The hospital claims that one police officer might be installed near her room to stop such incidents in future. "The police were saying that they would station one officer in front of her room. But we aren't sure about it," said Shehabi. But Kamble refuted the claim and said, "If a patient's relative doesn't follow the doctor's instructions, then it is the internal problem of the hospital. We can't do anything about it. We can't install any officer inside the hospital. There might have been some misunderstanding."

Abu Dhabi it is
While the water incident left a bad taste in Shaimaa's mouth, there was a silver lining in the events of Thursday. It has been confirmed that Eman will soon fly to Abu Dhabi for the rest of her treatment. Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, chairman and MD, VPS Healthcare, Dr Shajir Gaffar CEO, Senet Meyer, director of VPS Medical Evac, Dr Vivek Singh, director of VPS Rockland Hospital, Delhi visited Eman yesterday, after which they issued a statement confirming the move.

The statement said, "As the treatment here concludes, she is being shifted to Burjeel Hospital in UAE (initially introduced to the family by Dr Lakdawala). Secondary physiotherapy will continue there as it is closer to home for Eman."

However, the date of her departure hasn't been fixed yet. "Everything is in process. The date hasn't been finalised yet," said Shaimaa. But this time around, instead of going on a chartered cargo plane, Eman will fly business class.

Incidentally, Burjeel is one of the hospitals that came forward to treat Eman a year ago, when they were in Egypt. But Shaimaa had opted for Saifee, as per a friend's suggestion.