Seven-year-old Delhi resident Aadya died because of dengue. At the same time, her family suffered because of the healthcare system. The final bill for Aadya treatment over two weeks was Rs 18 lakh, which included Rs 2,700 for gloves and Rs 660 for syringes.
Aadya's father assumed that his child died during the treatment, but the hospital made sure of to make money for their expenses of gloves, syringes and other things. There were several headlines in media regarding hospitals turning into ''Money Making Shops'', and how helpless 'patients' are becoming 'customers'.
This is not something about a single hospital, you must have also experienced something like this in some hospital near you. In a country like ours, where there are multiple hospitals that are just looting people, when a lower-middle class or middle class person falls sick, they don't approach government hospitals but seek help from these well renowned private hospitals.
I also have a story. This is a story of 5-star hospital in Lucknow. My father was then a patient of heart blockage. Lucknow's PGI Government Hospital gave the date for bypass surgery and asked us to come after four months.
Meanwhile, my father suffered from severe heartache. It was clear that we could not wait, and some wise man suggested the (5-star hospital).
Let me also tell you that there are several other, wiser men in the market who offer you the long list of private hospitals.
I have not encountered that many hospitals, but whatever experience I have had, this was by-far the most extravagant hospital. When we got there we were handed a slip on which it was written in bold “We Treat With Care”.
However, this was not on my mind at the time. I was in my final year of college, 22 years old and my older brother my only support. About 3-4 hours after we were handed the slip, my father got admitted in the ICU which had several “sanitation” levels and began to get his various checkups done. We were informed that only after the heart specialist comes, will the treatment begin. Then, a tall doctor walked in, in a white lab coat and sat in a closed room.
Then, it was my elder brother and my turn to be summoned into the room. That time was really difficult for us for two reasons. First, the head of the family, the one who took care of all our problems, was admitted to the ICU. Second, we were in a “multiplex hospital” for the first time, where doctors were the one asking the questions and the ones giving the answers.
The doctor began to speak, which is something I can never erase from my memory:
Neither of us knew what to say next. We had already discussed the bypass surgery with several people. We didn’t understand what “most of the function of the heart is not working” meant.
My brother said “proceed with the operation”. Their reply was “arrange money.”
“How much money is to be arranged sir?”, asked my brother.
“At least give us some idea about it”, said my brother.
“At least 15. It could go up to 20, 30, 40 or more. It will depend on his condition. We cannot do anything right now, decide quickly”, was their response.
They meant 20, 30 or 40 lakhs and no less.
Me and my brother looked at each other and were thinking of how to arrange the money. Papa was in the ICU and we couldn’t ask him anything. Then, we called some relatives and an arrangement was initiated.
Also note, my father could walk and talk, but after hearing the five star hospital’s doctor, we could not utter a word. At PGI, within an hour, my father had his ECG done and the doctor said there was nothing to worry about.
All this happened in 24 hours. We felt deceived by the system, hospital, the government and by ourselves. We had too many opinions about doctors, hospitals and their profession. We also knew the real importance of money.
Aadya’s death has made headlines, but many more Aadyas and their families are victims of this system. It reminds me of this song.
(This article was originally published on Quint Hindi.)
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