STARS COLLIDE
Maternity hospital demands Aadhaar card from woman before admission
A four-months pregnant woman named Shana Aziz Khan alleged that she was denied admission to Maa Saheb Meenatai Maternity Hospital of Chunnabatti as the doctors were demanding Aadhaar card from her. She said that before Diwali festival to start she visited the hospital to get the admission card so as to start her pregnancy treatment. However, the hospital staff sent back as she did not have Aadhaar card.
Also, it’s all only after the interruption by local Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) corporator and activist she was allowed to take treatment without giving the Aadhar card.
In addition, she stated that the hospital staff instead of listening to her plea misbehaved and asked her to get help from big officers. It’s only after she approached few local activist and BMC corporator Saida Khan of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) she was admitted to the hospital. Saida Khan said that when she inquired with the hospital authority they covered up their mistake. She also further stated doctors defending their move claimed usually parents abandon their newborn baby. Hence, as a precautionary measure, they ask for Aadhaar card.
Shakeel Rashid Shaikh, an activist from Jai Ho Foundation slammed the civic corporation and said there is no such circular or policy which is to be furnished compulsorily by patients for seeking treatment in civic hospitals, but as people who come here for treatment are poor and uneducated therefore they don’t know about the process and the hospital authorities take undue advantage of them.
Shaikh also further claimed that it’s not for the first time such incidents have been reported in this hospital.
“Apart from that for women who stay in Chunnabhatti and adjoining areas, there are no other maternity hospitals but only Maa Saheb Meenatai Maternity Hospital which is not well equipped and patients are sent to Sion hospital for small check-ups,” he added. Meanwhile, the dean of the hospital Nilesh Jain, remarked he was unavailable when the incident occurred. Therefore, he cannot comment on it.