Gurugram's Fortis hospital bills family of 7-year-old dengue victim Rs 18 lakh; JP Nadda promises action

Gurugram: In a shocking case, the parents of a seven-year-old girl, who died of dengue after undergoing treatment at the Fortis Hospital in Gurugram, were allowed to take their daughter’s dead body after paying the exorbitant bill of Rs 18 lakh. Residents of West Delhi’s Dwarka, the parents of the deceased have alleged that the hospital staff kept their daughter on ventilator for three days despite she had stopped responding to the treatment. The child died on 14 September, 2017. Union Health Minister JP Nadda later called for details of the case and assured to look into the matter. “Please provide me details on hfwminister@gov.in .We will take all the necessary action,” said Nadda in a tweet. As the information about this case went viral, the hospital immediately issued a statement regarding the patient. According to the hospital, Adya was brought to Gurgaon’s Fortis Memorial Research Institute from another private hospital on the morning of 31 August, 2017. “She was admitted with severe dengue which progressed to dengue shock syndrome and was managed on IV fluids and supportive treatment as there was a progressive fall in platelet count and hemoconcentration,” said the hospital in a statement. [caption id=“attachment_4220133” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Fortis hospital. Image credit: Official website of Fortis[/caption] As her condition deteriorated, she had to be put on ventilator support within 48 hours. “The family was kept informed of the critical condition of the child and the poor prognosis in these situations. As a process, we counselled the family daily on the condition of the child. On 14 September, 2017, the family decided to take her away from the hospital against medical advice (LAMA - Leave Against Medical Advice) and she succumbed the same day,” said the statement. Stating that there was nothing wrong at their end, Fortis said that all standard medical protocols were followed in treating the patient and all clinical guidelines were adhered to. “An itemised bill spread over 20 pages was explained and handed over to the family at the time of their departure from the hospital. Patient was treated in the Paediatric ICU (PICU) for 15 days and was critical right from the time of admission requiring Intensive monitoring,” said the statement. “Treatment during these 15 days included mechanical ventilation, high frequency ventilation, continuous renal replacement therapy, intravenous antibiotics, inotropes, sedation and analgesia.A Care of ventilated patients in ICU requires a high number of consumables as per globally accepted infection control protocols. All consumables are transparently reflected in records and charged as per actuals.” Fortis Hospital also said that they have been in touch with the family to address their concerns and remain available for any further support required. “We understand the grief of the bereaved family and our heartfelt condolences go out to them.”