For patients, especially those who do not have any relatives to accompany them, approaching the Government Rajaji Hospital here, treatment, let alone humane treatment, could be a far cry.
Case in point was 35-year-old accident victim Mangal, a native of Bihar. Mangal, who sustained grievous injuries in a road accident, was seen lying in a semi-conscious state outside the emergency ward of the hospital, after allegedly being denied treatment, on Wednesday. Though several doctors and nurses passed by, none of them turned their attention to Mangal (35) of Amarpur, Bihar, even as he writhed in pain, with a protect his open wounds from insects.
Mangal was brought to the GRH on a 108 ambulance and admitted in ward number 99 on Tuesday evening. The nurses in the hospital only provided first aid to Mangal and shifted him to ward number 99 for further treatment, GRH sources said. However, when the hospital staff learnt that Mangal did not have any relatives to help him, they removed him from the emergency ward and threw him outside the ward on Tuesday night itself.
“I was thrown out of the ward when they learnt I do not have any one to take care of me. They did not give me proper treatment. It was very cold outside the ward. I could not move since I am injured in the head, waist and legs,” Mangal said, while adding, “I was hit by a jeep on the roadside on Tuesday afternoon.” When journalists inquired about Mangal, the doctors simply tried to divert their attention.
Sources in the hospital said this was not for the first time a patient was thrown out of the ward. “If people admitted in the emergency ward don’t have any relatives with them, they will be immediately thrown out from the ward,” a source alleged.
When contacted, hospital dean Dr N Mohan said that when he inquired with the staff in the emergency ward, they claimed Mangal crawled and went down to the ground floor from the first floor on his own. He added that he has ordered an inquiry.
