‘No admission’ for homeless patients to govt. hospital
Aditi R.
CHENNAI, June 28, 2018 00:00 IST
Being denied entry if unaccompanied, they complain
Homeless persons, in need of medical attention, have complained that they find it difficult to get admission into the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.
Recently, an 18-year-old homeless girl, infected with chickenpox, was reportedly turned away from the hospital as she had no attendant. The girl went to the Chennai Central station and was sitting on a platform until she was noticed by an officer from the Railway Police Force.
She was then rescued by the homeless rescue team of the Greater Chennai Corporation and brought back to the hospital. “They were initially hesitant to admit her, but after an hour they finally did,” said a Corporation official.
“Many a time they have turned away such patients as they came unaccompanied. We had to intervene to get them treated or admitted,” the official said.
An officer from the rescue team said that last week it took them hours to get a 40-year-old man admitted to the hospital. The man was found ill outside the Ripon Buildings. “It was late in the evening and he was shivering, unable to walk. He was also bleeding through his teeth,” the official said.
When he was finally taken in, he was administered an injection and the officials were assured that they would take his blood tests later in the night.
“The next day morning we were asked to come to the ward urgently. When we did, he died. We are not claiming negligence on the hospital’s part in this particular case, but we felt it would have been helpful if they had admitted him on time,” the Corporation official said.
However, a senior hospital official denied the allegations and claimed they always treated destitute patients. “We admit thousands of patients everyday and at least a hundred of them are homeless or destitute. We have assigned six people to specially attend to them. We have so far not received any such complaint,” he said.
R. Jayanthi, Dean of RGGGH, also said the hospital never turned away homeless patients. “We have records to show the number of homeless patients we admit every day. It is impossible that such incidents have taken place,” she said.
Aditi R.
CHENNAI, June 28, 2018 00:00 IST
Being denied entry if unaccompanied, they complain
Homeless persons, in need of medical attention, have complained that they find it difficult to get admission into the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.
Recently, an 18-year-old homeless girl, infected with chickenpox, was reportedly turned away from the hospital as she had no attendant. The girl went to the Chennai Central station and was sitting on a platform until she was noticed by an officer from the Railway Police Force.
She was then rescued by the homeless rescue team of the Greater Chennai Corporation and brought back to the hospital. “They were initially hesitant to admit her, but after an hour they finally did,” said a Corporation official.
“Many a time they have turned away such patients as they came unaccompanied. We had to intervene to get them treated or admitted,” the official said.
An officer from the rescue team said that last week it took them hours to get a 40-year-old man admitted to the hospital. The man was found ill outside the Ripon Buildings. “It was late in the evening and he was shivering, unable to walk. He was also bleeding through his teeth,” the official said.
When he was finally taken in, he was administered an injection and the officials were assured that they would take his blood tests later in the night.
“The next day morning we were asked to come to the ward urgently. When we did, he died. We are not claiming negligence on the hospital’s part in this particular case, but we felt it would have been helpful if they had admitted him on time,” the Corporation official said.
However, a senior hospital official denied the allegations and claimed they always treated destitute patients. “We admit thousands of patients everyday and at least a hundred of them are homeless or destitute. We have assigned six people to specially attend to them. We have so far not received any such complaint,” he said.
R. Jayanthi, Dean of RGGGH, also said the hospital never turned away homeless patients. “We have records to show the number of homeless patients we admit every day. It is impossible that such incidents have taken place,” she said.
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