'Body will rot till you get money': Delhi hospital refuses to hand over baby's corpse to poor parents

In a shocking incident which could be a new low for medical care and hospitals in the country, Fortis hospital in New Delhi allegedly refused to hand over the body of a deceased 17-day-old infant to the poor parents, demanding Rs 3,500 from them to cover the bill. [caption id=“attachment_2408946” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. IBNLive[/caption] On Saturday night, Sandeep Kumar, a driver living in Masoodpur village near Vasant Kunj in Delhi, rushed his baby boy to the Fortis hospital after the baby began gasping and wheezing for breath, reported DNA. The baby had been born with a congenital heart defect. When Kumar and his family admitted the baby in Fortis hospital, none of them knew that they were entitled to free treatment as BPL card holders under the Economically Weaker Sections scheme. The hospital staff, instead of informing Kumar’s family about his entitlement, demanded a deposit of Rs 18,000, after which the family borrowed some money and deposited Rs 14,500 to the hospital. “It took two hours to get the money, and only then did the main doctor show up,” DNA quoted Kumar as saying. “If they had come on time maybe my son would be alive. When I told the doctor that he said that a doctor is god.” According to The Hindu, the child died shortly after Kumar had deposited the money. The report added that Kumar said that the deceased child had been their fifth child and the family had lost all four children before him. “When I asked them to release the body, the hospital authorities told me I had to clear the bill [Rs.3,500] first. I then told them that I had arranged the previous amount by borrowing it and did not have more money. A staff member then told me ‘the body will rot here till you arrange the money’…Who speaks like that to a father who has lost his child?” The Hindu quoted Kumar as saying. However, the hospital has denied the charge. “As a policy, no charge is levied to provide treatment to the Below Poverty Line patients. In this case, the child was critical and admitted to the hospital as a regular patient. In spite of the best efforts of our doctors, he could not be saved. The body was handed over to the family without any delay as soon as it came to collect it. All pending dues were also waived at the time. Our deepest sympathies are with the bereaved family,” the hospital said in a statement, according to The Times of India. DNA also reported that Dr Simmar Gill, the zonal officer of Fortis, said that the baby had been provided with the best care possible and once the hospital realised that the family was BPL, they waived the outstanding amount and released the body immediately. However, the father of the deceased infant is not the only one who alleged misbehaviour by the hospital staff. Kumar’s employer, Arun Suvarna, also alleged that when he came to Kumar’s aid and asked the hospital staff why they had not handed over the body, the staff got aggressive, reported The Hindu. He also alleged that when he tried to record the conversation, the staff members snatched away his phone.