Husband wife senior citizen, patients of Covid 19 paid a hefty sum for treatment in a Delhi’s private hospital.

While the Covid 19 pandemic is on an expeditious rise nationally with 4.20 lakh cases and 9500 deaths due to this dreaded pandemic people of various states n the country are badly panicked due to the shortage of medicare n adequate treatment in various governmental hospitals including highly expensive treatments in private hospitals, not within the reach of the middle classes. Keeping in view the uncontrollable surge in Covid 19 cases in Maharashtra, Mumbai and Delhi especially after the relaxation in the lock down after May 4th the spike in various states have been tremendous making people frightened and insecure, especially the senior citizens and those with comorbities like cardiac sufferers, kidney patients, diabetic and with neuro complexities including cancer etc.

The senior citizens above 65 years of age n with money scarcity or with limited funds or pension less people are the most vulnerable and areon the extremely weak wicket. Amongst the Covid 19 deads at the pan India level the senior citizens are in maximum numbers followed by the middle aged n then the youngones. Delhi being the capital city is these days on the third step as the worst state having about 43 thousand cases of Covid 19 after Maharashtra and Tamilnadu.

About 2 n a half weeks ago it was quite behind amongst other states but has now come on the third padestral. It is believed that if the terrible surge in Delhi Covid 19 cases would continue to spiral further as is todayfor the last three days to the tune of 2224 cases daily by July 31st Delhi would witness 5.5 lakh cases of Covid 19 making the capital city a hub of deadly pathogen.

The capital city would be requiring about 1lakh 50 thousand beds and thousands of doctors n paramedical staff to cope with the prevailing critical situation. Unfortunately despite a huge shortage of beds and other facilities in Delhi government and private hospitals, several private hospitals are charging exorbitant amount from Covid 19 patients who go their for admissions with their deteriorating conditions.

A prominent news channel AAJ TAK had a few days ago done a string operation in few private hospitals of Delhi and have on camera caught the private employees demanding lakhs of rupees inlieu of allotment of beds n ventilators etc after first denying them beds under the guise of non availability of beds.

These private hospitals have literally become a money minting machines from Covid 19 patients. Sources reveal that usually a patient admitted in these hospitals has to part with 5 to 8 lakh rupees per patient for a fourteen days stay or may be less.

According to the national spokesman of Aam Admi Party Harish Awasthi who’d depicted a sorry tale of two husband wife septuagenerians of Delhi who after having tested positive for Covid 19 have to part with the 10 lakh rupees bill in a high profile private hospital. Despite paying such a heavy bill both the 70 year old husband wife were constrained to be satisfied as they were safe after cure of some days treatment in this private hospital.

It may be recalled that the Delhi government had filed an FIR against one of the high profile prestigious hospital namely Ganga Ram who has now been allowed testing of Covid 19 in their hospital.

Both the above senior citizens were tested positive despite the fact (as stated by them ) that they had never gone anywhere and were indoors since March 15 till they were admitted in the private hospital.

This is really highly worrisome as no Covid patient especially the ones in serious condition could afford such an expensive treatment in lakhs in private hospitals of Delhi. There have been complaints of even charging more than Rs. 7 lakhs in some hospitals beyond the reach of the middle class though the rich and affluent could easily afford.

The Delhi government has however declared that in every hospital it has deputed the government officials to regulate the functioning of these private hospitals n helping the poor n needy to get them 20% free beds which have been reserved for the economically deprived Covid 19 patients, but of no avail as the private hospitals’ functioneries were caught on camera demanding hefty sums from troubled Covid 19 patients.

After acknowledging good number of complaints from different quarters the union home minister and Delhi government have assured Delhites about capping the Covid 19 treatment rates in Delhi’s private hospital for the convenience of the patients but till now no decision whatsoever has been taken in this regard.

Meanwhile the Union Home minister Amit Shah today visited the Lok Narayan Jai Prakash Narain Hospital under the jurisdiction of Delhi government to inspect the Covid 19 arrangements and treatment rendered to the patients. There had also been numerous complaints earlier, one by a old father’s daughter Amarpreet whose father suffering from Covid 19 expired at the RML hospital under the central government’s control after he was denied admission despite her wait at the gate for several hours repeatedly pleading with the doctors n hospital staff. She had repeatedly tweeted requesting for her ill father’s admission in RML but of no avail as per her tweets.

It may be recalled that Delhi has nearly 41000 cases with about 1384 Covid 19 deaths and whopping 1 lakh 8 thousand cases in Mumbai.