In a display of brazen apathy by the doctors at Sanjay Gandhi hospital at Amethi, a critical poor patient was denied treatment on the grounds that he was carrying ‘Ayushman Card’, Prime Minister Modi’s flagship scheme for health for the poor. The doctor at the helm of affairs at the hospital allegedly said, “…Ayushman Card is not valid and applicable here as the hospital is owned by Rahul Gandhi and not by PM Modi or Chief Minister Yogi. The card does not work there.”
The poor patient died on April 26 after the denial of the treatment and the family has named one Dr Siddharth responsible for the death of the patient. The nephew of the deceased said,“ We admitted my uncle in the Sanjay Gandhi hospital and we gave the doctors the Ayushman Card. We pleaded with Dr Siddharth with folded hands and fell at his feet; we told him our uncle was dying, but he said we could take him to another hospital.”
If the allegations are true, then the pro-poor slogans of NYAY mean nothing.
The heart-wrenching story was tweeted by Union minister Smriti Irani, the main challenger to Rahul Gandhi in Amethi, whose real threat has led Rahul Gandhi to seek cover in a ‘safe’ seat at distant Wayanad in Kerala. “I am speechless today. How can someone stoop so low, I had never imagined. A poor man was left to die because he was carrying Modi’s Ayushman card, as the hospital is Rahul Gandhi’s,” Smriti Irani responded through her tweet.
In response to the question whether the hospital was empanelled under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, the relative of the deceased said that he sought assistance from the helpline, but could not get any help due to his ignorance. However, whether a hospital is empanelled with some government scheme or not, the basic healthcare ethics demands the treatment of a dying patient.
J P Nadda, the Union Health minister tweeted his agony over the death of the hapless patient. He tweeted to Rahul Gandhi, “who is going to take the responsibility for this tragic death.”
The relatives said that they could have video-recorded the whole developments but as their uncle was serious, the attention was more on his treatment. The tragedy has taken twitter by storm and a response is being sought from Rahul Gandhi.
Ayushman Bharat is the largest state-sponsored welfare scheme in the world, which aims to provide health insurance coverage to more than 10 crore poor families. As per the latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data, 8.03 crore rural households and another 2.33 crore urban households will be covered under this scheme.
