Forty-seven-year-old woman Rupali Shirote, who was bitten by a stray dog on Saturday, August 2, faced a harrowing ordeal after she was denied urgent anti-rabies treatment at Cooper Hospital. The hospital reportedly turned her away on Monday morning, citing a shortage of anti-rabies vaccine and injections, and directed her to Sion Hospital instead.

Rupali Shirote, the victim, did not seek immediate medical help after the bite incident on Saturday. “She had taken a leave on Saturday as she had to visit her brother who stays in the Irla Market area of Vile Parle. We only found out about the incident on Monday morning when she returned to work. We immediately asked her to head to Cooper Hospital, as that’s the closest to our home. I told my driver to take her to the hospital in our car,” said Savitha Rao, the employer of Shirote.

Cooper Hospital is one among the major BMC-run hospitals facing a stock-out. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi