Corona Daily 410: Eight Hospitals in Fifteen Hours

Thirty-year old Neelam Kumari Gautam worked on an assembly line producing electrical wire. She was happy the lockdown had started during her pregnancy. Her husband Bijendra Singh, 31, serviced machines at a printing press. Their joint annual income of Rs 6 lakh ($8000) was enough to take care of them, their six-year old son, and the baby that would arrive sometime in June. The family lived in Ghaziabad, Delhi’s satellite city.

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On 5 June, Neelam woke her husband up at 5 am. Her excruciating labour pains were accompanied by rising blood pressure and breathlessness. Fortunately, her brother-in-law, Shailendra, owns an auto rickshaw. He took the couple to the ESIC model hospital. Neelam had an ESIC (employee insurance) card that qualifies her for cashless treatment there. The first thing the doctor said to Neelam: ‘I will slap you if you take off your mask.’ He then asked the couple to move to another hospital.

By 7 am, the rickshaw reached Shivalik Hospital, which had given Neelam pre-natal care earlier. Doctors feared she had coronavirus, and abruptly asked her to leave. Later, its director Ravi Mohta said: ‘We are a small mother and child hospital. We did what we could.’

In the rickshaw, Neelam was panting, sweating, holding her husband’s arm tightly. Fortis hospital is a health care giant. Neelam went in at around 11 am. Fortis would issue a statement two days later: ‘Due to unavailability of rooms in the ICU, she was given oxygen in the waiting area. The husband was counseled and explained the need for transfer to another hospital.’

Their next stop, the Jaypee hospital, later issued a statement. ‘She had covid-19 symptoms like fever and breathlessness. According to government instructions, we referred her to GIMS, where covid patients are treated.’

Sharada hospital in greater Noida treats covid patients. Its spokesperson, Dr Ajit Kumar later said: ‘We had no space in the ICU, and ICU allotment happens through the CMO office. So, she was referred to a higher center.’

It was eight hours since they had left home in the morning. The temperature was hovering around 38 C. At 1330, Bijendra called the police. Two police officers met them at the entrance of GIMS (Government Institute of Medical Sciences), a large public hospital. Police tried to persuade the doctors, but couldn’t get the patient admitted. The family paid Rs 5500 for a private ambulance which took them to the Max Super Specialty hospital, 25 miles away. It had no beds. Later, Vaishali, the hospital’s spokesperson said: ‘As per our records, no such patient was registered in our emergency.’

The ambulance carried them back to GIMS. In the ambulance, Bijendra repeatedly pleaded with his wife to keep her spirits up. She did not respond. At GIMS, they tried to resuscitate her, but it was too late to do anything. At 08.05 pm, fifteen hours and eight hospitals since leaving home, Neelam was pronounced dead. Her baby also died.

Dr Rakesh Gupta, director, GIMS, later said, ‘yes, they came to us, but we didn’t have a bed. And the second time they came, the woman was dead.’

Atul Garg, the minister for medical, health and family welfare said, ‘I will inquire and get back. Since I am on visit to districts in western UP, I had no information about the case.’

A preliminary government investigation said: ‘Hospital administration and staff have been found guilty of carelessness.’

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Ravi