Doctor demands donation to issue death certificate

In a shocking incident, a Nerul-based doctor put up an unrealistic demand before the family of a deceased for issuing a death certificate to the patient whom he had supervised in her last days, and even confirmed her dead. The doctor demanded a portable breathing machine worth Rs2 lakh from the family.

According to the Patel family, Bhanu Patel, in her 70s, died on September 11 at the family home in Nerul. The deceased had been suffering from several ailments including respiratory ones.

When the Patels took her body to the crematorium, they were asked to show her death certificate, following which the family approached Dr Mangesh Bang for the document. Bang, who runs Atharva Nursing Home at sector 4A in Nerul, asked the family to donate BiPAP (Bi-Level Positive Air Pressure) machine worth Rs2 lakh if they wanted the death certificate. A BiPAP machine is a small device that assists a patient’s breathing.

A family member said, “Bhanu had been admitted to Atharva Nursing Home on many occasions. The hospital had also carried out blood transfusion on her a few times. Her health was always supervised by Bang.”

The Patels also said that Bang had confirmed that Bhanu had died after he was called to check on her on the morning of September 11.

“Bang asked us to donate the BiPAP machine to his nursing home if we wanted the death certificate. The demand seemed a little unrealistic for the family members during a time of grief,” said a family member.

The family then approached another doctor and finally got the certificate. “We carried out the last rites, but we didn’t like the way the doctor behaved with us,” added the member. Bang remained on his hospital number. Text message sent to his mobile number also went unanswered.