HC directs son to shift ailing mother to Bhabha hosp, bars him from dealing with her property

The Bombay High Court has directed an elderly patient’s son to transfer his mother from a private hospital to the ICU of Bhabha Hospital by Tuesday 9am

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has directed an elderly patient’s son to transfer his mother from a private hospital to the ICU of Bhabha Hospital by Tuesday 9am. The private hospital said that the son had stalled the discharge procedures for over a month, intimidated medical staff, and repeatedly refused to take responsibility for shifting his mother or paying her treatment expenses.

(Shutterstock)

According to the hospital’s petition, the patient was admitted on August 24, after a fall and was initially treated in the emergency department. On September 21, the son allegedly misbehaved with the doctor treating his mother, and demanded that she be replaced with a physician of his choice. By October 4, the patient’s condition had improved sufficiently for her to be discharged, but the hospital said that her son refused to clear her medical bills or take her home. Hospital authorities then lodged a complaint against the son at the Bandra police.

By October 6, the hospital had prepared the woman’s discharge card along with a detailed homecare plan, but the next day the son claimed he was ill and would not be able to take his mother home. The following week, hospital authorities cautioned him through letters and emails that due to the extended unnecessary stay at the hospital, his mother ran the risk of contracting a hospital-acquired infection.

On October 17, the son’s advocate served a legal notice to the hospital authorities of negligence and claimed that they had failed to provide documents that the petition does not identify. The hospital responded by informing the Bandra police senior inspector and the Senior Citizen Tribunal of the son’s conduct and seeking action against him under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act.

On October 27, the son’s advocates sent another letter denying all allegations and reiterating that the hospital had been negligent towards his mother. On November 1, the hospital sought police assistance to safely transfer the senior citizen to her house, but when the police called her son to the hospital, he refused to take her home.

Hearing the matter, the court directed the son to ensure his mother was safely discharged and transferred to the Bhabha hospital under the supervision of their medical team. The court added that the son must bear the shifting cost and the cost of the medicines which were a part of his mother’s treatment.

The court held that any failure to comply with these orders would mean an “exposure and abandonment” of a senior citizen, in which case the State would have to take custody of the woman, medically assess her, and shift her to a government hospital at State expense.

The Court directed police and the senior citizen’s tribunal to act on the hospital’s complaints while keeping in mind Sections 5 and 23 of the Senior Citizens Act, which include protecting the patient’s assets.

The court has restrained the patient’s son from dealing with any of her movable or immovable properties, including her house in Bandra, without its permission. In addition the son must file an affidavit within a week disclosing all her assets. An earlier sum of ₹1 lakh deposited in court by the son will be transferred to the Senior Citizen Tribunal from which her treatment costs will be deducted.

The police, the tribunal, and other authorities involved have been directed to respond to the court regarding the matter by November 24.