Mumbai: 49-Yr-Old Man Dies After Eight Hospitals Refuse To Admit Him

Image Credit: The Indian Express

Mumbai: 49-Yr-Old Man Dies After Eight Hospitals Refuse To Admit Him

From Friday night to Saturday morning, the family went to Nair hospital, St George's, KEM, ENT hospital, Global, Hinduja and then Nanavati through the night, before returning home. In the morning, Sudarshan passed away due to acute breathing problems.

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A 49-year-old man died after his family failed to admit him in eight hospitals between Friday night (April 17) and Saturday morning (April 18) in Mumbai. The man, Sudarshan Rasal, who lived in Worli, a hotspot for coronavirus, has complained of breathlessness.

"My brother could have been saved if he would have been put on ventilator on time. For almost eight hours, we rushed from one hospital to another. At each hospital, we begged the authorities to admit him. But all efforts were in vain. We lost him," The Indian Express quoted his younger brother, Avidan, as saying.

Sudarshan often suffered from breathing problems, had high blood pressure and diabetes. For the last few days, he had had a mild cough. On Friday night, he complained of breathing issues and began vomiting.

Afraid he had caught the COVID-19 infection, his family rushed him to the Kasturba hospital, but the doctors allegedly examined him without any tests and claimed he did not have coronavirus.

The family went to Nair hospital, St George's, KEM, ENT hospital, Global, Hinduja and then Nanavati through the night, before returning home. In the morning, Sudarshan passed away due to acute breathing problems.

Since Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) guidelines do not allow collecting swab from a dead person, the family will never know if he had COVID-19.

The family said that both BMC and private hospitals denied him admission sue to shortage of beds.

Sudarshan was a share taxi driver on the route between Mahindra Towers in Worli and Prabhadevi railway station. He had been at home after the lockdown. On Friday, he began vomiting.

"We took him in our taxi to Kasturba hospital, where they said it doesn't seem he has COVID-19. From there, we were asked to go to Nair hospital," said Avidan. At Nair, the family said they were told there are no beds. "The staff told us to visit St George's. After several requests, the doctor gave him medication but refused to admit him," alleged Avidan.

Dr Akash Khobragade, medical superintendent at St George's hospital, said, "We are only admitting critical COVID-19 patients with oxygen saturation below 90 per cent. Stable patients are usually referred," he said.

At 2 AM on Saturday, the family went to KEM, where he was allegedly denied admission due to shortage of ventilators.

Dean Dr Hemant Deshmukh said, "KEM is not a dedicated COVID-19 hospital. If a patient has symptoms, he has to go to a dedicated hospital. Our hospital beds are already full of acute respiratory patients."

According to the family, they were asked to go to ENT Hospital in Fort. "The KEM doctor said they had called a doctor in ENT. We waited almost one hour at ENT. Finally a doctor came and after checking documents refused admission saying they don't have ventilators," said another family member.

The family then went to Global hospital, a private hospital in Parel, where Sudarshan was refused to be admitted due to shortage of beds.

"A woman came up to the ER with the medical papers of her relative, the patient, who was referred from another hospital for lack of beds. The relative asked whether a bed was available at our hospital. Since all beds were occupied the EMO directed the patient to other identified hospitals as per MCGM guidelines," a hospital spokesperson said.

"By that time his condition had started deteriorating. We again went to KEM. We told them the problem we were facing. But doctors said they can't do anything. My sister in law literally begged them to do something so that his life can be saved. But they said they are helpless. "If doctors say they are helpless where will the poor like us go?" Avidan said.

The family went to both PD Hinduja, Mahim, and Nanavati hospital in Santacruz, both of which were allegedly reserved for COVID-19 patients.

Nanavati hospital officials claimed that there was no official record to show that Sudarshan had been brought for admission.

A spokesperson of PD Hinduja Hospital & MRC, said: "As per our attending doctors in the patient screening area, the patient came on April 18 and had a letter from KEM identifying him as a high-risk suspected COVID case and recommending admission to three hospitals among declared COVID hospitals in Mumbai by the government. PD Hinduja hospital in Mumbai doesn't fall in that category and was not in the list of three recommended hospitals in the letter. Hence, the patient was asked to proceed to the recommended hospitals on priority, as per government guidelines."

The Indian Express found that all three private hospitals– Global, Hinduja and Nanavati– have reserved beds for COVID-19 patients.

On Saturday morning, the family called 108 hoping for the arrival of an ambulance.

"But it also came late. My brother was breathing very heavily and he wanted to urinate. When we lifted him, he suddenly collapsed. The ambulance came one hour late and the doctor in it said he is no more," he said.

After the 108 ambulance service refused to transport them, the family called another ambulance. This is complete negligence. He would have not lost his life if a simple ventilator was made available," said family friend Naresh Gaikwad.

According to a senior doctor from JJ hospital, there was no clear policy in place on referral of patients causing confusion on admission of suspected coronavirus patients.

"We had a suspected COVID-19 patient who remained the entire night in JJ hospital and was not admitted, finally she was referred to St George's," the doctor said.

BMC has now begun auditing deaths before confirming them as COVID-19 cases. Sudarshan's body was sealed as per infectious disease protocol. He was cremated but no swab was taken.

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