The Delhi High Court has issued notice to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on a plea of a woman alleging that the premier institute has stopped conducting surgeries of critical patients due to the ongoing pandemic.
Justice Navin Chawla asked AIIMS to submit its response on the petition filed by 37-year-old Gulshan Farooqi, who is suffering from large fibroid uterus and severe anaemia, by next date of hearing on August 21.
Ms. Farooqi, in her petition filed through advocate Ashok Aggarwal, stated that she was earlier admitted in Newa Care & Gynae Centre at Kanpur. The hospital advised her to go to AIIMS, Delhi for treatment as it involved complications and needs higher medical set up.
Ms. Farooqi said she came to Delhi on August 8 and strightaway went to AIIMS emergency, but was denied treatment despite her repeated requests. “No reason whatsoever for non-treatment was given,” she said.
Mr. Aggarwal said since she needed continuous medical care, she got herself admitted in Sita Ram Bhartiya Institute of Science and Research (SRBISR), New Delhi and is still there under EWS category. However, SRBISR has advised her surgery at a higher tertiary care centre with in-house blood bank facility and ICU. Mr. Aggarwal submitted that such a facility is available at AIIMS and if AIIMS refuses to provide treatment, she would most likely die.
Mr. Aggarwal further submitted that Ms. Farooqi also approached the office of the Union Health Minister with a request to pursuade AIIMS to provide her treatment. “However, she has been told that though request was sent from Union Health Minister’s office on August 8 to AIIMS, the institute said that surgeries were not being conducted for the time being,” the plea stated.
The petition submitted that AIIMS is not justified in refusing treatment. “In case a premier institution like AIIMS stops conducting surgeries of critical patients, where would such patients go?” Ms. Farooqi asked.