Maharashtra Medical Council

Jeevan Jyot Hospital

Rs 500

Fortis Hospital

Sheetal Kamath

Sion

Doctor says no to deposit in Rs 500 notes, baby dies awaiting help 04:18

Cops to forward distraught parents’ complaint to theThe chaos triggered by the demonetisation of Rs 1000 and 500 currency notes claimed its first victim on Friday – a newborn in Govandi.The infant – a boy – died a day after being denied treatment byand Nursing Home in Govandi because his parents wanted to pay a part of the deposit incurrency notes, which ceased to be legal tender starting Tuesday midnight.The infant’s father Jagadish Sharma, a carpenter, visited the Shivaji Nagar police station on Friday to lodge a complaint but was advised to submit a letter which would be forwarded to the Maharashtra Medical Council.Despite clear instructions from the government that hospitals must continue to accept Rs 1000 and 500 notes, there have been several cases of refusal of admission or treatment across the city. In a separate incident,in Kalyan was served a showcause notice on Friday by the District Civil Surgeon for not accepting Rs 1000 and 500 notes.Sharma’s wife Kiran was under Dr’s care at Jeevan Jyot Hospital and Nursing Home from April 18. On November 8, a day after the prime minister declared the decision to withdraw Rs 1000 and 500 notes from circulation, Kiran underwent tests at the hospital, including sonography, and was told the baby was due around December 7.However, in the morning on November 9, Kiran went into labour and the baby was delivered in the care of relatives and neighbours. Since the baby, weighing all of 1.6 kg, was born premature and Kiran lost a lot of blood during the delivery, the family decided to rush her to Dr Kamath.At the hospital, while Dr Kamath gave Kiran primary care, she refused to admit her because of her husband’s inability to pay the entire Rs 6,000 deposit in currency notes of denomination of Rs 100 and less. Since the banks and ATMs were shut for the day as the government grappled with the complications of removing old currency notes and replacing them with the new ones, the family requested that they be given time to get the money converted. But Dr Kamath did not relent and sent Kiran and her baby back.When the baby’s condition worsened on Friday, the family rushed him to Dr Amit Shah in Chembur. But the infant died even as his mom and dad waited for their turn to see the doctor.When Mumbai Mirror contacted Dr Kamath, she admitted that the primary reason to refuse admission to Kiran and her baby was the family’s inability to pay the full deposit. She, however, also added that the baby required Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) care and since her hospital did not have the facility, she suggested that the family should move the mother and the infant tohospital. “I carried out the primary checkups and the necessary intervention. But she could not pay for the treatment with valid currency, so how could I forcibly admit her?”Health Minister Dr Deepak Sawant said if he received a complaint, he will send it to the Maharashtra Medical Council for investigation. “If necessary, action will be taken under the Bombay Nursing Home Act,” he said.Below is the audio recording of the phone call between Mirror reporter and Dr Kamath, in which she accepts that she did not admit Kiran as the family came to the hospital after the demonetisation announcement. She makes the statement before the 2 minutes 50 seconds mark. A transcript of the conversation follows the recording.Hello ma’am, this is Alka Dhupkar, a journalist from Mumbai Mirror. I want to talk to you for two minutes. A patient of yours named Kiran has complained that your nursing home denied admission to her because she didn’t have the proper change of Rs 3,000 for the deposit.No... since the new currency was introduced... since then...Yes... The family has alleged that because they could not arrange the change [in acceptable denominations] you denied the admission. Is it true?I think she had delivered a baby at home and she was brought in that condition. I did a check-up. I told her that she has to keep the baby in an incubator. It would have been expensive so I gave her a referral letter for Sion [Hospital].What was written in the letter?That she has to visit Sion Hospital and her baby needs an incubator... her [Kiran’s] delivery did not take place in my nursing home, they brought her after the deliveryOk all right, but hasn’t she been your patient since the early days of her pregnancy?Yes, she was my patient from early on, but she needed to keep the baby in an incubator and that would have been very expensive for her. She could not afford it and she didn’t have the new currency notes. So what should have I done with the patient?But ma’am, don’t you think saving a life was more important in such a condition?Lives were saved. I had examined her [Kiran]. The delivery took place at her home. I administered an injection to her [when she was brought to the nursing home]. Whatever intervention was necessary, I did it. She didn’t have the money for the admission so I could not forcibly admit her.But the patient’s family has alleged that it was not that they could not afford it, they didn’t have lower denomination notes. The family promised to get the proper change in an hour’s time and requested you to admit her first.New currency notes had been announced and then they came [to the nursing home]Yes ma’am, but please listen to what am I saying. The relatives were ready to pay in lower denomination notes.... they were asking for time.I had told them if you can arrange it, then I will admit her, but they took the patient away.