Govt to take up case of 'abandoned' German patient in Kolkata

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Sunday that the government will take up the case of a 79-year-old German man who has been lodged at a Kolkata hospital even after being discharged as no one came forward to take him back.

"We are taking this up with the German Embassy," Swaraj said, in response to an appeal for help on Twitter.

Holzer Dieter Siegeried was admitted to Kolkata's premier SSKM Hospital with a lung disease.

"He was admitted to the hospital by representatives of an NGO around seven days ago. He was discharged on Friday, but there was no one to take him back," said Manju Banerjee, Director of the Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research at SSKM.

"We can hardly communicate with him as he speaks only German. We have apprised the German consulate in Kolkata about the patient. We are awaiting response," she said.