In a shocking case of medical apathy, a senior citizen, who met with an accident, lost his life late Tuesday night after two Mumbai hospitals - Podar and KEM refused to treat him
Deceased Abdul Mabud with his granddaughter Almeera, just hours before his death
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In a shocking case of medical apathy, a senior citizen, who met with an accident, lost his life late Tuesday night after two hospitals refused to treat him.
Abdul Mabud, 65, a resident of Sakinaka in Andheri, had gone to meet a relative in Worli Tuesday evening. Around 8.30 pm, he took his two-year-old granddaughter Almeera out for a walk. The two were crossing the road near the flyover at Atria Mall, when a speeding taxi hit him.
MNS party workers, who have their office nearby, rushed to the accident site. "The old man was lying unconscious and the child was crying. The taxi driver had escaped leaving his car behind," said Manohar Gawde, one of the members of the group that rushed to help Mabud.
Mabud’s son Jaseem at KEM hospital
Their ordeal, however, had only begun. The group used the same taxi to rush Mabud to the hospital. "Since Podar is the nearest hospital, we took him there. However, since it specialises in Ayurveda, the doctors asked us to take him to KEM," said Gawde.
They called up 108 for ambulance assistance. However, after waiting for over 20 minutes, they decided to call for a private ambulance instead.
"When we reached KEM, the doctors refused to admit the accident victim because they did not have a ventilator. They referred us to JJ Hospital instead," Gawde added.
Though Mabud was finally admitted to JJ, due to excess blood loss, he was declared dead within half an hour.
Almeera received five stitches on her left hand, and is currently recuperating at KEM Hospital
The group of friends who helped the accident victim did not know how to contact Mabud’s family since he did not have any documents or ID card on his person.
Mabud's son Jaseem, who is a hairstylist with a popular salon-chain, was unaware of the accident till he started looking for his father. "When I went near the bridge, I found his cap. I knew it was his and started panicking,” he said.
Jaseem rushed to the nearest hospital Podar, and authorities there, directed him to JJ. "But, by then, it was too late," said Jaseem. His daughter Almeera received five stitches on her left hand.
"This incident shows how ill-equipped our hospitals are," said Yusuf Qureshi, Abdul’s relative, who was present at the hospital.
Santosh Kanase, police sub-inspector, JJ Marg police station, said, “We have registered an accidental death report. Further investigations are on.”
When contacted, on-duty CMO at KEM said, "We were not able to admit the patient because he required machinery support, which was not available."
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