A few months after making headlines for having rat-infested premises, the Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivli is back to ill-treating patients
A few months after making headlines for having rat-infested premises, the Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivli is back to ill-treating patients. This time around, it refused to admit daily wage earner Bhogendra Chaudhari, 24, who was suffering from a low blood platelet count, and fobbed him off with a five-day prescription.
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Bhogendra Chaudhari
Chaudhari had fallen ill on December 14, brought down by a fever and body ache. He went to a private clinic for a diagnosis and was told that his platelet count had fallen to 41,000. He was immediately referred to Shatabdi. On December 16, when he went to Shatabdi Hospital, doctor present at emergency, considering his severe health condition, asked him to get admitted. All the paperwork was done and he was taken to the male ward. But after sometime, he was asked to leave.
Just gave meds
"As I couldn't afford a private hospital, I opted for a BMC-run hospital. But after my admission, a senior doctor at the ward just refused to admit me," said Chaudhari, adding, "The doctor just gave me medicines for five days and asked me to leave. Had something happened to me, who would have been responsible?" Despite repeated pleas, he wasn't admitted. As per BMC advisory, in cases where platelet count falls seriously, the patient needs to be immediately admitted. mid-day has copies of the cancellation of the admission.
Can't afford to die
Following this negligence, Chaudhari filed a complaint with the hospital, stating that they would be held responsible for his death if it was caused due to improper treatment. "Just because we are poor, don't we have the right to live? How can the hospital be so irresponsible? I am the breadwinner of my family, so I can't afford to die," he said. When mid-day spoke to Shatabdi Hospital superintendent Dr Vijaya Pol, she said she was unaware of the incident. "We always take care of serious patients. I will look into it."
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