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77-year-old dies as TMC assigns bed, but hospital refuses to take him in
Despite being assigned a bed in a Covid hospital by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), a 77-year-old man died after the hospital refused to admit him, his family
Despite being assigned a bed in a Covid hospital by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), a 77-year-old man died after the hospital refused to admit him, his family has alleged. The man’s family waited outside the hospital for almost two hours, by which time the patient succumbed, they alleged. The hospital has claimed that they did not have ventilators available to treat the man.
TMC has set up a Covid war room to update the status of available beds in Covid hospitals and help patients reserve a bed, especially in case of emergency.
The 77-year-old man was the father of a TMC employee. “My grandfather was admitted to a private hospital in Kopri as he had trouble breathing. After his test report came positive on Monday, the hospital asked us to shift him to a Covid hospital, so we got in touch with TMC’s war room. They informed us that a bed was reserved for him in Kalsekar Hospital,” said the man’s 23-year-old grandson.
The Kopri hospital allowed the patient to stay till an ambulance arrived, and also provided oxygen.
“The ambulance arrived in the evening and we went to Kalsekar Hospital in Mumbra. However, the hospital refused to admit him, claiming no bed was available. We called the war room and the mayor seeking help. We stood outside the hospital for at least two hours, as the guard had closed the gate and did not allow us in. We finally decided to go back to the Kopri hospital, however, my grandfather died on the way,” alleged the grandson.
An official from TMC said that the hospital had given confirmation after which the patient was asked to shift. “We had got confirmation from the hospital and therefore, sent the patient there. The civic commissioner has set up an inquiry into the incident, and action will be taken.”
Thane mayor Naresh Mhaske said strict action needs to be taken against hospitals that refuse to follow the directives of TMC. “We demand that a case of culpable homicide be registered against the hospital,” he said.
Kalsekar Hospital management has claimed that they did not have ventilators available. Dr Afreen Saudagar, chief executive officer of the hospital, said, “We were informed at 6.40pm that a bed was needed, however, we were not told that the patient would need a heart bypass. The patient reached here at 11pm and needed a ventilator. We did not have any ventilator and could not admit him. We have submitted our report on the incident to the corporation.”
