Famida drags her husband 75-year-old Amir Sab through the corridors of McGann SIMS Government Hospital in Shiv... Read More

BENGALURU: Three nurses and a Group 'D' staff of McGann SIMS Government Hospital in Shivamogga were suspended after a video of an elderly woman dragging her ailing husband on Wednesday, went viral.

The video, taken by a visitor to the hospital, captures Famida pulling 75-year-old Amir Sab through the corridors of the hospital after she was allegedly denied a wheelchair to take him for a medical test.

“This kind of incident should not happen to anyone. We've taken action against the people responsible, and suspended three nurses and a Group D employee who were outsourced by an agency,“ Shivamogga Congress MLA KB Prasanna Kumar told TOI. He termed the incident “inhuman“. Amir Sab, from Chitra durga, was admitted to the hospital on May 25 with complaints of lung infection and agerelated diseases. Doctors had advised him to get an ultrasound test done before deciding on the line of treatment.

What happened later, with Famida resorting to a primitive method to take her husband for the test, sent shockwaves through the hospital.

As the heart-rending scene went viral, the state government tendered an apology. “I am ashamed to be sitting in this chair after seeing the video. We apologize for what happened. We've instructed the Shivamogga DC to visit the hospital and ascertain facts before initiating action," said health minister KR Ramesh Kumar . Since the hospital came under the medical education department, Kumar said he spoke to medical education minister Sharan Prakash Patil about the incident, and asked him to initiate action against those responsible.

Chief minister Siddaramaiah declined to comment on the issue.

Hospital sources said Famida pleaded with the hospital staff for two days to arrange for a wheelchair or stretcher to take her husband, who was in a third-floor ward, to the ultrasound lab located on the ground floor. None heeded her request.

Later, Famida persuaded her husband to walk, but he couldn't do so because of sore feet, an aftereffect of a fracture he had sustained around two years ago.

Famida told reporters: “The doctors told us to get an X-ray done for my husband. But he could not move from the hospital bed and our requests for a stretcher fell on deaf ears. We waited for two days and the doctor, who came on his rounds, rebuked us for not getting the X-ray done. Feeling helpless, I asked my husband to lie down on the floor and pulled him towards the Xray room. Later, some people created a commotion. Following this, the hos pital authorities swung in to action.“

Director defends hospital staff

McGann Hospital director Dr BV Susheel Kumar told TOI that Amir Sab was admitted on May 25. “A day before this incident, he was taken on a wheelchair for a medical test but the patient's wife Famida is now claiming they weren't given the wheelchair on the second day for ultrasound tests. Our inquiry has revealed lapses on the part of nurses and a Group `D' employee who had taken another patient when this incident happened. A detailed inquiry will reveal the truth,“ he added.

BJP slams health minister

Opposition leader in the council, K S Eshwarappa, from Shivamogga, condemned the incident and called health minister KR Ramesh Kumar 'Harikatha dasa' (a storyteller who blends poetry, music, mythology and philosophy in his performance).

TIMES VIEW

It's happened again. Last time, it was a man bringing home his dead daughter on a two-wheeler.This time, it's an elderly man being dragged through a hospital. Each incident serves to highlight the pitiful state of affairs in our public health sector, the lack of basic infrastructure and also utter disregard for human dignity. It is well-known that patients in government hospitals need to bribe the staff for every facility. While an apology and quick action was timely, the minister should realize that the sector needs a great deal of investment, both in facilities and soft skills.



In Video: Denied stretcher, woman forced to drag her ailing husband