Navi Mumbai: 'Pvt hospitals refused to admit ailing mother; I received her body only after her Covid-test came negative'

Vijay Singh | TNN | Apr 22, 2020, 22:21 IST

Sameer Mohite

NAVI MUMBAI: Sameer Mohite, a 38-year-old Dombivili resident, had a harrowing time since last Saturday when his 65-year-old mother, Sangita Mohite, suddenly developed a heart problem in Sanpada, where she was staying with her daughter since the beginning of the lockdown.
The senior citizen was first rushed to a private hospital in Sanpada, but they refused admission on the grounds that the woman may be Covid-19 positive.

Sameer Mohite's mother Sangita
She was then rushed in an auto to a Vashi-based municipal hospital, which has now been declared as a Covid-19 hospital. Unfortunately, she died there the same night. This was just the beginning of Sameer's ordeal, something which many non-corona patients and their kin will surely relate to.
"I was in Dombivili when I got to know that my mother had collapsed due to her heart condition at Sanpada. The local Millennium Hospital refused to admit her, while several other private hospitals were also called for their ambulance. But there was no proper response. At 10.20pm on Saturday, she passed away at the civic hospital in Vashi. When I rushed there to take her body late at night, I was told that it will be handed over only after checking her Covid-19 test result," recalled Mohite.
The next day (Sunday), Mohite again visited the municipal hospital -- after taking a lift on a relative's motorcycle from Dombivili to Vashi.
"The hospital administration again refused to hand over the body, since her coronavirus test result had not yet arrived. For three days, I regularly visited the Vashi hospital to get my mother's body; but it was only given to us on Tuesday night. Her Covid-19 test result was negative," said a dejected Mohite.
"Had the private hospital admitted her on Saturday evening, perhaps she may have survived. I will now be writing to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation about this sad experience I have gone through," he added.
Often, during the road journey on the bike, police personnel stopped him at several check points as they wanted to know why he was not carrying any death certificate of his mother.
"I had to patiently explain to the police every time that the death certificate will only be given once the Covid-19 test result of my dead mother was declared. It was a horrible experience," he rued.
Last week, a 56-year-old Vashi-based lawyer, Jaideep Jaywant, had also died of a heart attack after a private hospital refused to admit him. He was then taken to a Nerul-based hospital, but precious 30 minutes were wasted by then, leading to his eventual demise.
"I have already had a meeting with the managements of several private city hospitals and clearly told them that they cannot refuse any patient who urgently requires medical attention; otherwise action can be taken on erring hospital staff. With regards to the unfortunate death of the Vashi-based lawyer, I have already ordered an inquiry to know why a private hospital refused to attend to him," NMMC commissioner Annasaheb Misal told TOI.
Former local member of parliament (MP) Sanjeev Naik, commented: "There have been at least eight deaths of non-corona patients in Navi Mumbai, as per my knowledge. This is not a good sign, since saving every patient is important, whether they have coronavirus or not. Those who need regular kidney dialysis also suffer a lot, since they require a fresh Covid-19 negative certificate every time they go back to the hospital. We need a proper policy to help the people."
Naik added that his personal assistant had to also intervene in the Sangita Mohite death case in order to help out her grief-struck son get the required documents and carry out her last rites.
"I too have written to the NMMC and also state government to ensure that emergency non-corona patients are immediately admitted to the nearest hospital. Legal action should be taken on those hospitals which are not doing their duty. The lockdown should not mean that only Covid-19 cases will be attended to," city activist Anarjit Chauhan said.
A Vashi-based social worker, Rohit Malhotra, recalled: "Just yesterday (Tuesday) I got a message from a local that a woman suffering from hypertension immediately needed to be taken to a doctor as her blood pressure had shot up. No private hospital in Vashi entertained her, and she was then taken all the way to KEM hospital in Mumbai. The state must look into these important issues before we lose more lives."