In a bizarre incident, an elderly woman was forced to drag her ailing husband to the X-ray room after the hospital staff refused to provide her with a wheelchair. The apathy and in-human act of the staff of a Government-run hospital at Shivamogga in Karnataka came to light after a video of the elderly woman dragging her husband went viral in the social media and local channels.
The video shows Aamir Saab, aged about 75, dragged by his foot along the floor by his wife Fameeda, to the scanning room as she was not provided a wheelchair or stretcher to transport him. The inhuman act has sparked an outrage with the Government ordering an inquiry into it.
The incident occurred on May 31 afternoon at the State Government-run Mc Gann Hospital in Shivamogga.
According to the patient, his wife was not provided the wheelchair by hospital authorities, despite repeated requests.
“We were fed up after repeatedly asking for a wheelchair. No one gave it. So my wife dragged me. By then someone came. They raised their voice against hospital authorities and got us the wheelchair,” Amir Saab told reporters. He said he has got backpain after being dragged along the floor and also complained that doctors were not visiting “properly”.
Health department officials said Amir Saab was admitted on May 25 due to some lung problem, breathing issues and swelling in the body. The physician after conducting tests had advised an abdomen scan on May 30, they said.
The “unfortunate” incident should not have occurred as there was adequate number of wheelchairs, the hospital officials said, adding, an inquiry would be held regarding the lapses.
The Government was quick to understand the gravity of the incident and ordered an inquiry into the incident. Minister for Medical Education Sharan Prakash Patil, said he was “surprised” by the incident and would take action against those responsible.
Health Minister Ramesh Kumar said officials told him that the patient’s family was “impatient” to wait for the wheelchair. “But I told the officials that such incidents should not have happened at a GH. So I ordered an inquiry and told them to submit a report,” he said.
Kumar while apologising to the public for the unfortunate incident, also appealed to them not to lose faith in Government Hospitals because of such stray incidents.
This is not the first time that patients are being deprived of facilities at the Government Hospitals.
On May 21, a man was forced to carry the body of his wife on a stretcher after the hospital authorities refused to give an ambulance to him.
Earlier in November, a woman was forced to drag her ailing husband on the ramp of a Government Hospital in Guntakal city after hospital staff allegedly expressed their inability to provide her a stretcher.