With the fast developing technology and medical advancements, we should ideally be getting better patient care. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for India, where healthcare sector is being questioned with each passing day.
In the last couple of weeks, two well-known hospitals have shown medical negligence towards their patients. While Fortis Hospital lost its credibility by over-charging the parents of a 7-year-old girl who died of dengue, Max Hospital is being held responsible for failing to save one of the two premature twins due to negligence.
Even before the above incidents took place, another case of carelessness occurred at Khar’s Hinduja Hospital in Mumbai.
The incident came to light on when Surgitika Chhabra, a Vile Parle resident, filed a police complaint against the hospital for allegedly serving soup to her 70-year-old father, Jasvinder Singh – who is a cancer patient – in a ‘corroded flask’.
The matter took place on November 7, and she approached the hospital staff about it. When she followed up on her grievance on November 15, they claimed that it is simply a tea stain and not rust. Unconvinced by their claims, Chhabra decided to lodge a complaint with the Khar Police.
In a report by Mid-Day, Chhabra says,
The hospital has conveniently denied these allegations when the police contacted them. A hospital spokesperson told Mid-Day,
“We would like to clarify that the said flask was not corroded, but had some kind of tea stain on the inside. We requested Chhabra to hand over the flask so that we could check and corroborate with our F&B partner Ms Sodexo. But, she insisted on keeping it with her.”
The police have taken the matter seriously and sent the flask for a forensic inspection. Senior Inspector of Khar Police, Ramchandra Dashrath Jadhav said,
“As soon as we received the complaint, we visited the hospital. We have collected the flask, but it would take some time before we get the forensic report.”
Whether the flask was corroded or it was just a tea stain, the question remains unsolved as of now. But keeping in mind the recent trend of medical negligence, I won’t be surprised if Chhabra’s claims are proven to be true.