Mumbai: On September 12, Nanavati Hospital in Vile Parle had a patient from the economically weaker section with complaints of severe chest pain. But, despite repeated pleas, and even claiming to have documents to prove his status, the hospital denied the poor man treatment. Now, the hospital is in a fix after it was revealed that the patient was Charity Commissioner Shivakumar Dige, who was on a surprise visit.
Mr. Dige said he parked his car away from the hospital and went along with his driver. “I had worn a simple shirt and trouser with a cap. I told the receptionist that I wanted to get admitted under the charity offered by the hospital as I could not afford to pay. But the receptionist said there is no charity offered for the poor.”
After much persuasion, Mr. Dige said, the receptionist directed him to another colleague who repeated the same thing. “I asked her to direct me to the medical social worker appointed by the hospital to help the underprivileged. Surprisingly, he too did not take much interest, and instead sent me to the billing section.”
Even at the billing section, the man asked him if he could manage some money. “I told him that I have no money, but I could provide the documents to prove that I am from the economically weaker section. I finally went back to the reception and disclosed my identity, and demanded to see the facilities set aside for the poor,” he said.
Post his visit, he sent a show cause notice. Not satisfied with their reply, he finally ordered a case to be registered against the trustees and an inquiry under the assistant charity commissioner.
Charitable trust hospitals like Nanavati are supposed to reserve 10% beds for indigent patients and 10% for those from the economically weaker section.
“Nanavati should have had at least 66 reserved beds. But I did not come across any reservations. There were only 12 poor patients admitted to the hospital,” said Mr. Dige.
Dr. Rajendra Patankar, chief operating officer at the hospital, said they have not received a formal official communication, and refused to comment further.
There are 80-odd charitable trust hospitals in the city. In 2013, the Charity Commissioner’s office had audited all the hospitals and found that more than 80% of them were not abiding by the norms. “We plan to conduct fresh investigations on all the hospitals soon,” said Mr. Dige.