Narender Kumar's elder brother suffered from chest pain on Tuesday night, but when he rushed him to a private hospital in Shalimar Bagh, they demanded Rs 20,000 in advance. Since the family had the amount in denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000, the hospital refused to admit him. He rushed to another hospital where, too, he faced the same problem. Finally , a relative agreed to pay through credit card which helped Kumar get his brother admitted.But many other patients were not lucky enough. Those without a debit and credit card or a cheque book said they were forced to go to a public hospital or delay treatment in case of a non-emergency procedure.
“My brother, who lives in Aligarh, suffered a brain haemorrhage on Tuesday night after which we admitted him to a nearby hospital. As his condition deteriorated, we decided to rush him to Delhi.But the doctors at a hospital in central Delhi refused to admit him as we had cash only in the denominations of Rs 500 and Rs 1000. We don't have other means for payment either, so we are now rushing him to Guru Tegh Bahadur hospital in east Delhi,“ said Salim Ali, who owns a paan shop in Aligarh.
In another incident, it was alleged that doctors refused to continue treating a 42year-old man, Pradeep Kumar, who was admitted in a hospital since October 21, because the family did not make cash payment for further tests. Kumar's son, Akash Kumar, said the hospital had flatly refused to accept Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. “I needed Rs 3000 for his tests. It took me a long time to arrange for that amount in other denominations,“ said Akash. Some patients complained that hospitals around the city were delaying their discharge because they could not pay cash in the desired denominations.
Looking at the grim scenario, some hospitals urged the government to allow private hospitals too to accept the otherwise invalid notes.Dr P N Arora, vice president of the Association of Health Providers of India, said: “The Prime Minister's action is worthy of appreciation. It would help amputate the gangrenous black money part of the nation economy .But my view is that essential services such as healthcare should have been exempted so that people do not have to suffer,“ he said.
“The finance ministry's decision to allow Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes only at government hospitals and their pharmacies is creating hardship for many patients, especially from rural areas, who hardly use plastic money. I hope the government will look into their grievances,“ said Dr Dharminder Nagar, MD and CEO, Paras Healthcare.
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