People exploded in anger at Bengal’s notoriously coercive hospitals. Now, a new law will take them on.
“FOR the first four days that she was in the intensive care unit tied to a ventilation machine, the doctors wouldn’t even let us meet her,” says Sanjay Goenka, a Calcutta businessman, recalling his mother’s death in a Calcutta branch of a prominent group of hospitals. “We desperately wanted to let her know that we were all there and pleaded with the nurses, but they rudely told us off. Not a single doctor bothered to talk to us about her condition, far less comfort us.” If the hospital staff’s callousness came as a shock, Goenka and his family wasn’t prepared for the ‘cruelty’ which came next. “on the fifth day, a doctor supposedly attending to my mother told us coldly that her throat would have to be cut open from the front and a tube inserted in order to intravenously feed her. We learnt later through our doctor friends that this was a test procedure that hospitals were conducting on patients who they knew were dying, using them as guinea pigs. My mother was old and frail and should have been left alone....”
For Goenka, who still seethes with impotent rage, it was like an endless nightmare. The emotional trauma was compounded manifold by what he calls the “mental and physical torture that she was being subjected to”. He says, “As if pipes forced through her lungs were not painful enough, they tied up her hands and feet so that she wouldn’t be able to move if she suddenly came to; they also made us sign a bond as though we had specifically requested for it.” And at regular intervals, Goenka remembers, there would be a doctor or nurse handing them a long list of medical treatments that we would have to pay for...immediately.
This story is from the May 08, 2017 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 08, 2017 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
DharmasthalaMantra of Development
Heggade's Path of Development towards Athmanirbharata Traced, How Temples can Transform Life, Economically and Socially
Forking Paths of Sanatana and Dravidian Thought
The evolution from devotional egalitarianism to social justice
Left, Hand Drive
Whether the Congress' Rahul Gandhi or CPI's Annie Raja wins, Wayanad has widened the chasm in the INDIA bloc
Coastal Turbulence
Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada-districts in coastal Karnataka, which witnessed increased instances of polarisation in the last few years-have been the BJP's stronghold
A Return to the Ballot?
Separatist politics may not influence the general elections in Kashmir this time
Miya, Axomia and Tea
The BJP hopes to sweep Assam in the Lok Sabha polls riding on PM Modi and CM Himanta Biswa Sarma's development and Hindutva agenda. The Opposition has constituency-specific strategies
The Stained Floodplains
In the calm foothills of the Eastern Himalayas, there is a storm brewing between the BJP and the TMC. The voters are divided
Minimum Support Life
Politicians visiting Madhya Pradesh are making big promises to the people, but for the Adivasis, it's still about Jal, Jungle, Jameen
Divine Dividend
Arun Govil, who played Lord Ram in the popular television series, Ramayan, flips the conventions of devotion on the campaign trail
Next Gen Bahujan
Nagina Lok Sabha constituency in Bijnor district has emerged as a key battleground for the future of Dalit politics in Uttar Pradesh