For Rajeshwari, a 29-year-old mother of two children, admitted to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital, anxiety and disquiet over the possibility of testing positive for dengue paled in comparison after she was allegedly denied a bed by hospital staff, and was treated on the floor.
Though the patient shifted to a private hospital, lack of resources for further treatment in a multi-specialty hospital prompted her to get readmitted to the GH.
Rajeshwari was brought to the casualty ward of the medical college hospital on Friday night with symptoms of vomiting, fever, dizziness and stomach ache. She was moved to another ward, according to husband Anbil Selvan, a driver.
When Rajeshwari complained of severe stomach pain around 6 in the morning, ward nurses said no medication or treatment was possible till a senior doctor came around 9 a.m. Distraught, Rajeshwar’s friends who were attending to her, moved her to a private hospital in Woraiyur. “I had unbearable pain and wanted to go home,” said Rajeshwari while her husband felt, “she was made to lie on the pathway between beds in the female medical ward which increased her discomfort as people were crossing over from side to side.”
But after a preliminary test that indicated dengue, the private hospital in Woraiyur referred the patient to a higher treating multi-specialty centre. But knowing he would not be able to meet expenses, Anbil readmitted his wife to the GH.
“For poor patients like us, treatment at a multi-specialty hospital is unthinkable and unaffordable The GH is our only hope,” says Anbil. When questioned about the incident, dean A.Karthikeyan said patients with fever or any other symptoms were always allotted beds while those with slight muscle pain or anaemia were sometimes given mats to lie down. He said he would inquire into the alleged incident. There was only one adult positive dengue admission in the hospital but a few suspected cases for which the confirmatory test results are yet to arrive, he added.
