Admin lapse forces patient to wait for 6 hrs for discharge

A fireman admitted to LG after a brain haemorrhage in April had to wait for over six hours for discharge as a document failed to reach hospital in time

Afireman who suffered brain haemorrhage in April was kept waiting for six hours to be discharged from a city hospital for want of a document. Fireman Kalpesh Patel, who is an employee of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), was on Tuesday made to wait for more than six hours after being told he could be discharged because officials at AMC-run LG Hospital were waiting for a document that stated he could pay his medical bills at a later date.

Patel had on April 30 suffered a brain haemorrhage while on active duty with his team spraying disinfectant around the city, especially in areas that were containment zones with a number of Covid-19 cases.

He had to be immediately taken to LG Hospital where his treatment was underway till June 29. Doctors on June 30 informed his family and senior officers that he could be discharged.

However, when they went to the hospital, the officials refused to let him go home till the bill had been paid. When fire officers said the AMC had sanctioned the payment for a later date, the hospital said they had received no such letter.

It turns out that officials of Ahmedabad Fire and Emergency Services (AFES) had last week already sought written approval from the AMC head office to keep payment in abeyance, to be paid at a later date and had received the same on Friday.

Accordingly, in a letter signed by the Chief Fire Officer (CFO), Deputy Municipal Commissioner (DyMC) and countersigned by the Municipal Commissioner himself, the hospital had been directed to treat Patel as a special case on the recommendation of the chief accountant of the AMC. Mirror has accessed the letter dated June 8.

However, when asked about this situation on Tuesday morning, Dr Sanjay Tripathi, the in-charge Medical Superintendent of LG Hospital said, “We have not yet received the letter and have asked someone to get it from the AMC.”

That holds true as a fire department officials informed Mirror that that the permission had arrived on Friday itself but had not been given to the hospital. Asenior fire department official said, “It is neither the fault of the hospital, nor that of the fire department. While the former needs to be aware of permission granted, the latter has many administrative issues to deal with due to vacancies.”

Sources informed Mirror that of the 13 positions sanctioned for administrative staff at the AFES, only eight are filled. Those still vacant include the heads of administration, the Assistant Manager as well as the Office Superintendent, along with two clerks and a typist. It finally took six hours for the matter to get resolved after which Patel was brought home by his colleagues to warm welcome at his quarters in Navrangpura.