As hospitals refuse to admit dengue patients, death toll in Delhi climbs to 11, government plans action

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September 15, 2015

NEW DELHI – Amid reports of more hospitals denying admission to dengue patients coming in, the death toll due to the disease in the national capital has gone up to 11 on Tuesday.

In the latest incident, a 29-year-old woman succumbed to the disease shortly after getting admitted to Lok Nayak hospital in Delhi.

September 15, 2015

NEW DELHI – Amid reports of more hospitals denying admission to dengue patients coming in, the death toll due to the disease in the national capital has gone up to 11 on Tuesday.

In the latest incident, a 29-year-old woman succumbed to the disease shortly after getting admitted to Lok Nayak hospital in Delhi.

According to authorities at Lok Nayak hospital, the woman, a resident of north-west Delhi, had come to the hospital on Monday evening and succumbed within a few minutes even as she was being attended to.

"The woman came gasping to the hospital. She carried a report from Ardent Ganpati hospital as per which she had tested positive for dengue.

"She apparently was suffering from Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS) and passed away within a few minutes while she was being attended to. As per her records, she had been ill for the last five days," said Dr Yogesh Kumar Sarin, medical superintendent at the hospital.

This came even as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Tuesday carried out surprise checks at hospitals in the capital.

The Chief Minister also said that his government is planning to bring in a law under which private hospitals refusing admission to emergency patients could be penalised.

"We are planning to come out with a law so that hospitals refusing treatment to an emergency patient can be penalised. In the next couple of days, we will call a special session of the Legislative Assembly to bring in the law," Kejriwal said.

The Chief Minister conducted surprise checks at several hospitals including Guru Teg Bahadur hospital and Dr Hedgewar Aarogya Sansthan in Karkardooma.

Kejriwal's visit came in the backdrop of another boy succumbing to dengue and his family alleging negligence by hospitals in the city.

Five-year-old boy Aman, who was refused admission for treatment by five hospitals, lost his fight to dengue. His parents first took him to the premiere Safdarjung hospital which turned him away saying the boy only had a mild case of dengue.

When Aman came back home, his condition worsened and, therefore, his parents took him to Jeevan hospital where after 48 hours of admitting him, the hospital said that it didn't have adequate infrastructure.

Aman's frantic parents then took him to Moolchand hospital which referred him to another hospital, citing lack of beds.

Aman's parents then called up Max and Batra hospitals, and were given the same excuse – there weren't enough beds. So Aman's parents took him back to Safdarjung hospital where they claim his admission card wasn't made.

Aman's parents finally took him to Holy Family Hospital where the boy lost his life.

In another instance, on September 8, seven-year-old Avinash Rout had died due to the vector-borne disease after allegedly being turned away by five hospitals which had driven his parents to suicide.


Courtesy:  PTI