TIRUPUR: Twenty-three days in hospital before succumbing to the virus, that was what fate had in store for M Subramanium, a 62-year-old resident of Kannakampalayam in Tiruppur.
He passed away on May 25. As if the trauma of losing their father was not burdening enough, his two sons have allegedly been handed over a bill of Rs 19 lakh, as treatment charges.
The incident came to light after Harikrishnan and Karthikeyan, Subramanian’s two sons, submitted a petition to the Tiruppur District Collector. It said that their father was admitted to a private hospital in Perumanallur after testing positive for Covid.
During the admission, his infection was mild. Five days later, the patient’s condition deteriorated and he was shifted to the ICU. Doctors mentioned the need for Remdesivir and charged Rs 40,000 per dose, the petition said, adding that the relatives paid Rs 2 lakh.
After injecting Remdesivir, Subramanium’s health improved, with oxygen support, and doctors claimed that he could be discharged if his health continued to progress.
However, on May 24, Subramanium called his sons saying he had breathing difficulties. They soon arrived only to be informed by the doctor about a lack of oxygen supply in the facility and asked him to be shifted to another hospital within three hours.
The patient was shifted to another hospital on the same day, but since the new hospital didn’t possess Non-Invasive Ventilation, he died the next day. The first hospital then charged them Rs 19.05 lakh without any receipt, they said in the petition, seeking action against them.
Express tried reaching the hospital, but they refused to comment. Collector K Vijaya Karthikeyan said, “We have received the petition and I have asked the Joint Director of Health Services to launch an inquiry on the same.”
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