Silchar Man says “would rather die” at home after Civil referred him to Valley, Valley to SMCH & SMCH to Civil

The sorry state of health affairs in Silchar stands exposed yet again. A Meherpur resident, who fears if his name is disclosed in this story the doctors won’t treat his family, fell sick on March 10, 2020. There was no COVID back then, there wasn’t a lockdown either. He was rushed to the SM Dev Civil hospital where the doctors suggested a set of medical examinations. The 48-year-old Meherpur resident got the tests done for free under the Chief Minister’s Free Diagnostic Services Programme.

However, the treating doctor referred him to Mediland hospital after prescribing painkillers. “If he could afford treatment at private medical college why would he go to Civil Hospital in the first place?” questioned his family member.

Despite knowing that his savings will go for a toss, he went to Mediland hospital, after all, “Jaan Hain Toh Jahan Hain.” There he had undergone treatment for a few days and then was discharged. He was suffering from diabetes and was at the risk of developing kidney problems.

For the records, this 48-year-old man works on a contractual basis at a government institution. At SM Dev Civil Hospital, he was treated by Dr. A Deb.

He went home partly recovered, and on April 15, he fell sick again. This time, the condition was worse. The family rushed him to SM Dev Civil Hospital again and on the way, he even lost consciousness.

At SM Dev Civil Hospital, as per the prescription, Dr. A Deb treated him. In the prescription, the doctor wrote, “The patient is unconscious, refer to Valley Hospital.” This is the same doctor who referred the patient to Mediland Hospital earlier on March 10.

“They did not even give him paracetamol or a painkiller. The patient was dizzy and all that the doctors at Civil did was kept us waiting for a while and then asked us to go to Valley Hospital,” shares a friend of the patient who was with him.

Again, “Jaan Hai Toh Jahan Hain.” Amidst the lockdown, they rushed to the Valley Hospital. “They advised tests again. We showed them the earlier reports but they said we need to get the tests done,” adds the attendant.

Complete Blood Count, Serum Creatinine, Serum Sodium, Serum Potassium, Serum SGPT was tested at Valley Hospital on April 15, the previous test was done on March 10. Blood Glucose Fasting and Blood Glucose Post Prandial was also done along with a chest X-Ray.

At Valley Hospital, as per the prescription, “Basic disease – fever, cough, mild breathing difficulty for one week.” The patient’s date of admission is April 15 and on the same day, he got discharged. The treating doctor, as per the discharge certificate was Dr. PC Sharma.

The discharge certificate read, “Admitted here on (15/04/2020) today at 12:29 PM with unconsciousness since today morning, now he is conscious. Treated with conservative management. Now referred to Silchar Medical College and Hospital for further management at 10:55 PM.”

So, the patient went to Civil Hospital and then got referred to Valley Hospital and was finally asked to go to Silchar Medical College and Hospital. “Why did SM Dev refer the patient to Valley and not SMCH?” questions a retired professor of medicine department, Silchar Medical College and Hospital. “Unless there is an emergency that cannot be addressed at any of the government hospitals, the public hospitals cannot refer to the private establishments,” the retired professor added.

The attendants, as instructed by the Valley Hospital rushed to Silchar Medical College and Hospital. At 1:50 AM, (as per the prescription) the patient was treated at the Casualty department of SMCH. The prescription signed by Dr. R Nath referred the patient to SM Dev Civil Hospital back to where they had rushed 20 hours back.

“The patient is still unwell and his condition is deteriorating but he does not want to visit a hospital. He says he would rather save the money for his family. He has lost his trust in the medical facility here,” says the patient’s friend.

Dr. A Deb, who referred the patient first to Mediland and later to Valley said that back then, they were instructed to do so by the Government. “As we were in the pandemic situation dealing with COVID cases, the patients were referred to a private hospital closer to their house,” said Dr. Deb.

The fact, however, is that only on March 30 (the patient was first referred to Mediland on March 10), the Health Minister signed an MoU with the private nursing homes as SMCH was converted to a dedicated COVID Hospital.

Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “All general patients must visit SM Dev Civil Hospital for treatment or they can visit the private hospitals where they will be treated at the rate fixed by the government. Patients who are eligible for free treatment won’t need to pay as government will bear the charges.” He added that emergency, child and maternity, burn and trauma departments will remain fully operational.

This order was with effect from March 30 to April 25. There were no reports of dedicating Civil Hospital for COVID Patients, so the order that Dr. Deb is referring to was not made public by the health department.

The patient had to spend around Rs 30,000 last time. While the government has made provisions for free treatment, the health care centres are making it impossible for them to avail. “This is a serious matter and the district administration must investigate it thoroughly,” said the retired professor of Medicine department of Silchar Medical College and Hospital.

This 48-year-old now feels dying at home without treatment is better than going door to door for treatment.

“It is important for people to know that health infrastructure built on taxpayers’ money is actually losing its purpose which is to cure and serve. There are many such 48-year-olds who have given up as they cannot afford to fly to CMC or Appolo. Also, so many hospitals, so many prescriptions, nobody suggested a COVID test despite him having all the symptoms and comorbidity. This should not happen to the poor of this country, not having money should not mean not getting treatment,” said a schoolgoer with tears rolling down her cheeks. She is a young member of the family.

Please Note: The report was filed after duly checking the prescriptions and medical investigation reports.