The baby suffering from septal defect was referred to AIIMS without checking for the availability of beds
Sunday night turned into a nightmare for Ram Vinay Prasad, a resident of the Okhla area in the national Capital. His eight-month-old daughter, who suffers from septal defect (hole in the heart), was admitted to the government-run Employee State Insurance Hospital (ESCI) in Okhla on May 25.
On Sunday, the ESIC hospital her to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the middle of the night, without checking with the hospital first regarding the availability of beds there.
Prasad also claims that despite several requests, ESIC refused to refer the child to a private hospital citing a rule that needs the identified patient to have more than two years of registration.
Ragini also suffers from thyroid. Despite the family's regular requests, the child was only given the basic thyroid treatment, which worsened her condition and on Sunday. When the family requested to be referred to the Apollo Hospital under EWS (economically weaker section) category, they were refused.
"We kept requesting them to let us take her to a private hospital since septal defect treatment requires special care, but they did not pay heed. Before her cardiac treatment she also needed treatment for her thyroid, we were sent to AIIMS without any communication between the hospitals and thus were refused a bed there," said Prasad, who works as a helper at a printing press.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences refused treatment citing unavailability of beds and asked to bring the patient back on June 20. With no other option left, the family approached social activists and visited Safdarjung hospital, where she was later given a bed.
"There is no such thing as a two-year registration before a patient can be referred to a private hospital under the EWS category. The fact that ESIC staff did not even try to contact the private hospital and sent the sick baby to AIIMS without checking shows the kind of negligent attitude towards the patients. This is heart-wrenching," said Ashok Aggarwal, advocate and social activist.
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