UP Woman Chases Hospitals For 5 Days Before Getting Medical Care, Says Family. (Representational)
Eighteen-year-old Dheeraj Kumar had to shuttle between government hospitals in Noida and Greater Noida for five days, before getting medical care for his mother.
The woman, who has kidney stone and breathing problems was finally admitted to the Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS) in Greater Noida at around 1 am on Monday.
Mr Dheeraj, who lives in Hoshiyarpur in Noida's Sector 51, said his mother had recently developed cough and swelling in her body.
They were told by a hospital to get a COVID-19 test done on June 3.
Mr Dheeraj claimed he spoke to Gautam Buddh Nagar District Magistrate (DM) Suhas L Y over the phone on Sunday morning and was assured by him that his mother would get treatment. In the evening, Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Deepak Ohri also assured them of help.
Mr Dheeraj, a Class-12 student, claimed he and his mother had to shuttle between the district hospital in Noida and the GIMS in Greater Noida.
"We came to the district hospital around 1 pm and were sent to the GIMS. They told us they do not have a vacant bed. Around evening, we got a bed here (district hospital), but the medical staff again referred us to the GIMS, citing lack of facilities. We have been waiting for an ambulance since 7 pm. I tried the 108 number also but did not get any help," he told PTI at 10.30 pm on Sunday.
The DM and the CMO did not respond to phone calls and text messages for their comments.
The incident comes close on the heels of a 30-year-old woman, requiring urgent medical attention in the eighth month of her pregnancy, shuttling around from one hospital to another with her husband in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad for 13 hours on Friday.
One after another, eight hospitals, including government-run facilities, in the two cities allegedly turned away Khoda resident Neelam and her husband, Vijender Kumar.
Mr Dheeraj lives with his father, a private security guard who is off work due to an injury, mother and an elder sister. Two of his elder sisters are married, he said. Mr Dheeraj said their ordeal at the three government hospitals began on June 3 and continued as he spoke on Sunday night.
"We first went to the ESIC hospital in Sector 24 on June 3. They sent us back with some medicines but the next day, my mother again experienced pain. We reached the hospital but were denied treatment and told to get a COVID-19 test done. They referred us to the District Hospital in Sector 30.
"The next day, we went to the District Hospital, but they referred us to the GIMS in Greater Noida. The GIMS sent us back, saying they do not have a vacant bed," he said.
Mr Dheeraj said on other days, he took his mother to the hospitals on a friend's motorcycle but on Sunday, as the friend had to go to work, he was left at the mercy of an ambulance.
"I thought I would take a cab but then some people at the hospital advised me against it," he added.
His mother ultimately got an ambulance around midnight and was admitted to the GIMS around 1 am, Mr Dheeraj said.
"The hospital has admitted my mother and said she would be tested for COVID-19. They have sent me back home since it is a suspected case of coronavirus," he told PTI on Monday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)