The heart-wrenching tale of suicide by a couple after their seven-year-old son, Avinash Rout, died of dengue following alleged denial of treatment at two major hospitals in city might have left everyone in a deep sense of shock and grief but the “money-minting” private hospitals seem to be least bothered. Poor people living across the streets of the big hospitals like Moolchand, Max Saket, Saket City Hospital and Indraprastha Apollo Hospital are not even “allowed” inside the premises “leave thinking to get treated there.” Even though most of these large scale private hospitals received benefits at their inception from the Government on the terms to provide easy access and free treatment to the poor patients, they seem to be far from returning the favour.
“Ye hasptaal hamaare liye nahin hain (this hospital is not for us),” said Uma Devi who lives few metres away from the Moolchand Hospital. She said this hospital is for “sahab log (elite people)”. “When someone from my family falls ill, we go to Government hospital or dispensaries, no matter how far we have to go or how seriously ill we get.”
According to media reports, one of the two hospitals which denied admission to Avinash was Moolchand Hospital. When approached to the hospital, the administration not only refused to give any explanation but on approaching the senior administration for comments they refused to speak.
“Write to us through our website... If we feel, your queries need to be addressed, we will get back,” said one of the officials while the other said: “We are not ready to talk to the media.”
Meanwhile, Max Hospital Saket, which has reportedly refused the treatment to Avinash Rout, issued a statement saying that his parents never approached the hospital. “We have checked our records and would like to inform that we did not receive any patient by the name of Avinash Rout at Max Hospital Saket. The patient never approached the hospital, hence the question of denying treatment to him does not arise,” the statement read.
They also denied receiving any notice from the Government in Avinash’s case.
Apollo hospital has four Government wards which they claim are used to treat poor people - including those coming from Below Poverty line (BPl) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS).
“Anyone who needs free treatment under the EWS category can come directly to our hospital or be referred. Those coming directly have to produce their BPl certificate or a self-declaration as a proof of their economic status. For referrals, a letter from the Delhi Health Ministry is required. In case there is an emergency, we give immediate treatment
and documents could be produced later,” Angad Bhalla, Assistant Manager, Communications and PR, Apollo Hospital told The Pioneer.
During 1990’s, private sector was involved by the Government by giving subsidies in order to facilitate the health care.
the Delhi Government holds 26 per cent stake in Apollo Hospital. The Indraprastha Medical Cooperation ltd (IMCl), which runs Apollo Hospital, has leased 15 acres of land on the Delhi-Mathura road, at the rate of Re1 per year for a period of 99 years.
The hospital was imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh by the High Court in 2009 for not providing treatment to patients belonging to economically weaker sections of society.
The hospital, however, refused to comment on the number of beds under EWS category saying the issue is sub-judice with the Supreme Court.
Similar lease agreements were signed with Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, Max Balaji, Rockland Hospital, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. Around 50 hospitals in Delhi are obligated to provide free medical care to those belonging to economically weaker section of the society.