India: Hospitals reject virus patient

Monitoring Desk

NEW DELHI: For 58-year-old Akbar Ali’s family, the last 24 hours have been nothing short of a nightmare as the local vendor with a critical heart problem has been rejected by two public hospitals in the Indian capital after he tested positive for COVID-19.

Ali was first admitted to a private hospital, under the “economically weaker section” category, and after testing positive for the virus the hospital referred him to a government-run coronavirus facility.

On Monday, he was refused admission at two government-run pandemic hospitals in Delhi — Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Hospital — due to unavailability of beds. The patient lies in an ambulance outside the second hospital, waiting for treatment.

“We took him to two different hospitals, after Max private hospital released and referred him. My father has a critical heart issue and may die if not attended. We have been waiting outside, almost begging the doctors to take him in,” Shahnawaz Khan, Akbar Ali’s son, told Anadolu Agency.

India’s low investment in the health sector, dedicating only 1.3% of its GDP, is now making it vulnerable to the outbreak. In comparison, China spends 5% of its annual GDP on health, South Korea a whopping 8.1%, and Japan 10.9%.

Earlier on Sunday, the photos and video footage of a hospital in India’s financial hub Mumbai shocked the world. The hospital, due to the unavailability of beds, had kept dead bodies wrapped in plastic, next to patients’ beds who are undergoing treatment.

(AA)