Ghaziabad: A 24-year-old man seriously injured in a bike accident died after a long delay in treatment despite reaching two hospitals, one of which allegedly didn’t have the right doctor present while the other, according to his father, was more concerned about payments than giving him the medical attention he urgently needed to survive.Tushar Kumar’s ordeal flies in the face of Supreme Court’s scathing observations in a recent case where a minor rape survivor was turned away by two Ghaziabad hospitals and died on the way to a third. The court also said it would frame national guidelines so that hospitals cannot show negligence in treating victims of serious crimes and those requiring immediate medical attention.Besides, Prime Minister-Road Accident Victims’ Hospitalisation and Assured Treatment (PM-RAHAT) scheme, notified by the road transport ministry, guarantees cashless treatment of up to Rs 1.5 lakh per person to accident victims at empanelled hospitals. Atlanta Hospital, where Kumar was first taken, is an empanelled one.A resident of Prahaladgarhi in Vashundhara, Kumar was hit by a vehicle on Link Road, about 100 metres from Namo Bharat Sahibabad station around 2.30am while he was on his way home from a hotel where he worked as a waiter. Cops were alerted by passersby on Dial 112.Police said they took the injured biker to Atlanta in Vasundhara, about 2 km away, which referred him to another hospital. He was subsequently taken to Yashoda Medicity in Indirapuram 5km away.Tushar’s father Shiv told TOI that Yashoda Medicity asked him to submit part of the admission fees. “As the charges were high, we thought of shifting him to a govt hospital and requested the hospital to arrange an ambulance, for which they asked me to pay Rs 6,000 upfront. When I returned with money, they asked me to pay another Rs 48,000 for the treatment administered to Tushar,” Shiv, who is a daily wage worker, said. He claimed the hospital refused to release Tushar till the family cleared the bill.“I arranged the funds from some moneylenders and cleared the bill, but I still don’t know why they charged Rs 48,000 when they did not provide any treatment to my son,” he said.Tushar, his father claimed, had reached Yashoda Medicity around 3 am, and it was 8 am when he was finally discharged and taken to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi, 26 km away, where he died during treatment around 4am on Sept 20.“Atlanta and Yashoda both played a role in my son’s death. One hospital refused to treat him, and the other delayed his release and also delayed his treatment by that extent just to earn money,” he said.Atlanta Hospital COO Dr Mahesh Chaudhary told TOI that initial treatment was given after Tushar was brought to the hospital by police. “But Tushar’s condition was critical as his hands and legs were severed in the accident and he needed a vascular surgeon at the time. We did not have the facilities to treat him properly, and that is why we advised the police to take him to a bigger hospital for treatment,” Chaudhary said.A statement from the Yashoda Medicity administration said following admission, Tushar was assessed by the medical team and appropriate treatment was initiated based on his clinical condition, with priority given to providing life-saving medical care. “Throughout the period of treatment, the hospital made every reasonable effort to support the patient’s clinical needs and also extended a concession during the interim period. Following clinical assessment and the treatment provided, the patient and family were counselled regarding the further course of care and advised accordingly,” it said.According to police, while Atlanta is empanelled under the PM-RAHAT scheme, Yashoda is not. Indirapuram ACP Suryabali Maurya said police took Tushar to Yashoda Medicity, even though it was not empanelled under the central govt scheme, to save his life within the ‘golden hour’ on the suggestion of doctors at Atlanta. “An FIR was filed against an unknown vehicle driver under BNS sections 106 (death due to negligence) and 281 (rash driving) at Indirapuram police station. Teams have been formed to scan CCTV footage and nab the accused,” the ACP said.Health department officials said information on empanelled hospitals, including their names and locations, has been shared with police officials at different levels, including police stations and senior officers, as well as emergency service providers. “The objective is to ensure that once an accident is reported, the responding personnel can quickly identify the nearest PM-RAHAT-designated hospital and arrange for the victim to be shifted there without losing critical time,” said health department nodal officer (road safety) Dr Pankaj Rakesh.(With inputs from Ayantika Pal)
