Coronavirus crisis: Woman dies at hospital gate as oxygen runs out

An octogenarian COVID19 patient died outside a Vasai hospital mdash which allegedly refused to admit her on Wednesday as her ambulance ran out of oxygen after over four hours of waiting The woman had tested positive on July 8 and was brought to the hospital around 5 pm by her family who were pleading with the authorities to treat her but to no availTHE 82yearold retired government teacher had developed weakness on July 4 A local doctor Dr Pavan Pathak did a consultation over WhatsApp and recommended that she be admitted to the privatelyrun nonCOVID IASIS Hospital at Evershine Vasai as her body was low on sodium She was admitted to the ICU and was administered oxygen On July 5 the doctors at IASIS Hospital started pressuring me to get her tested for COVID as per protocol said the womans 45yearold son requesting anonymityThreatened by hospitalI told the doctors that my mom is unwell due to her advanced age and COVID19 test is not required On July 5 Dr Ajay Dubey at the hospital threatened my brother saying if we dont get her tested theyd discharge her Neither the doctors nor the nurses cooperated with us and were very rude the man saidThe family said ambulance provided by IASIS Hospital did not have enough oxygenMeanwhile the woman was shifted from the ICU to a nonICU room I contacted Dr Pathak about the IASIS Hospital staffs rude behaviour as he had recommended we go there but he too shouted at me for no reason said the man who is a businessmanDr Pathak told midday that the woman was weak and having problem breathing We had been telling her son to get a COVID19 test done as she was symptomatic but he did not pay heed to us At last he got convinced on July 6 and her swabs for testing were collected Dr Pathak said When she tested positive for COVID19 her son panickedThe son on the other hand alleged that the hospital had stopped giving the woman medicines for diabetes and blood pressure since July 6 The doctor and nurses stopped visiting my mother On the same night the hospital staff told me to vacate the bed the man addedCOVID hospital refused admissionOn July 7 the woman tested positive We tried to contact several hospitals but no beds were available A friend suggested that we go to Nair hospital in Mumbai but the ambulance refused to take us without a booking confirmation On July 8 a staffer from IASIS Hospital told me that one bed at the Kaul City COVID19 hospital has been booked for us and I must take my mother there the man saidThe 82yearold woman was a retired government teacherIASIS Hospital arranged a nonAC ambulance for the woman and they left for the Kaul City COVID hospital at 430 pm The ambulance did not have enough oxygen At Kaul City hospital they refused to admit my mother saying that no doctor from IASIS Hospital informed them about the referral said the manThe woman was conscious when they reached the hospital I kept pleading with the doctors at Kaul City but they did not admit my mother She had been telling me that she is feeling uncomfortable The oxygen ran out and she died around 930 pm We tried to resuscitate her but she became motionless after waiting for more than four hours at the hospital gate the man saidWill take legal actionThe hospital then agreed to wrap her in a bag and her body was taken to a morgue in Nalasopara East Next day the hospital staff dumped her body on the funeral pyre mercilessly We relatives were helpless and could not do anything the man said adding that he plans to take legal action against the staffers at both hospitalsThe administrative head of IASIS hospital Sushil Kumar told midday Our senior doctors had spoken to the RMO of Kaul City which is a COVID19 hospital The relatives of the elderly patient wanted an ICU bed but it is not available there The condition of the elderly woman was better when she was discharged from IASIS but since she had COVID19 we had to send her to a treating hospital The allegation of rude behaviour by our hospital staff is baselessKaul City Hospital the COVID19 facility in Vasai WestIt is the IASIS Hospitals fault as we were told by them that the patient is stable on room air with 9092 saturation But when she reached here her saturation level of oxygen was only 47 and in that condition she immediately needed an ICU and ventilator IASIS Hospital gave us a misleading report of the patient At our hospital 16 out of 43 are oxygen beds all occupied We dont have ventilators or ICU beds Our doctors had suggested that the relatives take her back to IASIS Hospital but they did not go Dr Ashutosh Yejare incharge of Kaul City COVID Hospital told middayCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news