Turned away by 3 civic hosps despite symptoms, woman dies

MUMBAI: A 43-year-old Bhandup resident, whose family alleged she was turned away by three hospitals despite showing Covid-19 symptoms such as breathlessness for want of Covid test report, died minutes after she was admitted to Sion hospital, almost 12 hours later, on Monday. While Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation claimed they will seek a detailed report into the incident, the Opposition termed it a case of negligence.

Sushma Bhelekar, who has been a deputy shakha pramukh of Shiv Sena, faced breathing issues on July 20, two days after she got fever. Around 10am, the family rushed her to a Covid facility set up by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in Mulund in partnership with private doctors. “The staff from the facility told us that they couldn’t admit her as she had not been tested for Covid. I pleaded them to at least give her some treatment as her condition was worsening. They refused to do it. We have hand-to-mouth existence and I had no money to get her admitted to a private hospital,” said Anil, Bhelekar’s husband, who works in the laundry department of a hotel near the domestic airport and drives an autorickshaw at night to make ends meet.

Anil, with his 20-year-old son, rushed her to civic-run SVD Savarkar Municipal Hospital in Mulund, but she was turned away, citing similar reasons. “The staff told us to take her to civic-run Babasaheb Ambedkar Municipal Hospital in Vikhroli. She was not given oxygen support or any kind of treatment at any of the hospitals. The staff at Vikhroli told us she needed ICU facility. They arranged for an ambulance that had no medical staff, but had one oxygen cylinder, so that we could take her to