In what appears to be a case of medical negligence, a 30-year-old man reportedly suffering from fever collapsed and died on the road in Hyderabad after he was discharged by a private hospital. The incident took place in AS Rao Nagar of ECIL area in Hyderabad on Wednesday in front of a private hospital.
Pruthvi Raj, hailing from Jawaharnagar, Medchal had complained of a chest pain and cough on Tuesday. His family took him to a local clinic, where the doctor said it was a throat infection and prescribed him some tablets, said his sister Divya Jyoti to TNM.
The next morning, however, he complained of severe pain in his chest. Divya took Pruthvi on her two-wheeler to the Xenia Multispeciality Hospital, which is 4-5 km from their residence.
Divya Jyothi told TNM, "As he was complaining of chest pain and cough, I took him to Xenia Hospital on my scooty. Soon after admitting him they put him on oxygen and scanned his chest.”
When she was paying the bill, her mother informed her that the hospital had asked them to move Pruthvi to another hospital.
“I pleaded with them to keep the oxygen as he was feeling comfort but they rudely asked us to take him away," Divya alleged.
She further alleged that she was denied an ambulance to take him to Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) Hospital. "A duty doctor who enquired about how we came told us to take him by scooty to another hospital. They knew his condition was critical but they still wanted us to leave the hospital. They didn't even give us even time to get a vehicle," Divya alleged.
Divya recounted that Pruthvi began shivering when he was sitting on her two-wheeler, forcing her to stop, and take an autorickshaw instead.
"But less than one or two minutes after we got an auto, he was struggling to breath. When he tried to step into the auto, he collapsed gasping. No one came forward to help. Some passersby called the 108 ambulance whose staff came in 10 minutes and declared him dead." said Divya.
Visuals taken by passersby showed his mother and sister sitting on the pavement and crying, as Pruthvi lay flat on the road.
Divya said that if Xenia Multispeciality Hospital had continued to provide him oxygen until an ambulance was arranged for Pruthvi, her brother would still be alive. Divya alleged that it was after he was taken off the oxygen support that he developed severe shortness of breath.
Speaking to TNM, PS Prasad, an administrator at Xenia Multispeciality Hospital denied medical negligence. He said the private hospital hasn’t been designated by the government to treat COVID-19 patients and that’s why Pruthvi was referred to another hospital.
"The patient was brought to hospital at 11.39 am as he was symptomatic of COVID19, we referred him to a high-end hospital like Gandhi,” said Prasad.
While Pruthvi’s family alleges that the hospital did not offer their ambulance to transport him, Prasad said, “We offered our ambulance service to the patient but his attendants were hasty and took him away.”
Pruthvi is survived by his wife and two children.
Sir, The said person was got chest pain due to which his sister and mother brought to xenia Hosptial, ECIL. their duty doctor advised them to KIMS Hospital for better treatment. all of a sudden he collapsed where the ambulance reached and declared as died.
— Kushaiguda Police Station (@kushaigudaps) July 8, 2020
The Station House Officer (SHO) Kushaiguda police station responded on Twitter, stating " The said person got chest pain due to which his sister and mother have brought (him) to Xenia Hospital, ECIL. their duty doctor advised them to KIMS Hospital for better treatment. All of a sudden he collapsed where the ambulance reached and declared him dead."
Earlier in June, a 52-year-old asthma patient died in Medak district of Telangana for want of medical care. The ambulance that had arrived on the spot refused to transport him to the hospital fearing that he had COVID-19. The staff of the ambulance reportedly had no Personnel Protection Equipment (PPE).
On Tuesday, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan interacted with private hospitals in the wake of several allegations over the treatment of COVID-19 patients. She urged private hospitals to not deny treatment to anyone and to not charge excessive bills.