HIV patient thrown out of hospital

THE state government is spending crores of rupees on campaigns to dispel myths about HIV, but it seems to have failed to convince even the medical fraternity, and that too in the capital.

Shuttled from one hospital to another, a critically ill Ramen Adhikary (name changed) ultimately found a place in one of the premier hospitals of the city, only to be thrown out after a couple of hours by the medical staff as they learnt about his HIV positive status.

The incident took place at the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital on Tuesday, where the patient was referred to from the School of Tropical Medicine (STM). After the daylong ordeal, the 32-year-old patient, a resident of Ghatal in West Midnapore, was finally taken to a state-run hospice in Behala.
"I am yet to verify the incident. It's shocking. How can a patient be thrown out like that. We will definitely conduct an inquiry," said A N Biswas, deputy superintendent of the hospital.

"The entire incident is shocking and it highlights how HIV positive patients are neglected. We have already informed the health department and will lodge a formal complaint on Wednesday," said Tarit Chakraborty, president of the Bengal Network for Positives, an organisation of HIV positive people in West Bengal.

Adhikary had been suffering from multiple ailments for the last four months. He was diagnosed with HIV in April at the STM. His condition deteriorated meanwhile and he fell critically ill. His family members took him to Ghatal sub-divisional hospital, from where he was referred to STM again.

Accompanied by his wife, and neighbour Biswanath Jana, Ramen reported to the STM at around 9 am on Tuesday. After waiting for hours, the doctors ultimately attended to him at noon, but referred him to Calcutta Medical College citing non-availability of beds.

The trauma started for the hapless patient and his attendants the moment they reached the hospital. They were shuttled from one department to the other for hours. At 1.30 pm, the patient was finally admitted (admission order number 602/07) and placed on the floor of the male ward in the general emergency. "Around 3 pm, the Group D staff asked us about the disease of the patient and we told them it was AIDS. Suddenly, they were infuriated and told us to take him away. We argued but failed to reason with them. Some of them then picked him up from the floor, carried him out and put him on the ground in the open. It was raining and we were helpless. He (Ramen) was gasping," said the patient's wife.

Ramen lay near the hospital gate for hours in a critical condition. His relatives said they approached the doctors on duty but they all refused to help them. Ultimately, it was a group of locals who came to their aid. "We saw the man lying on the ground and he had defecated on himself. We went to the offices of the superintendent and deputy superintendent, but they had left for the day. Ultimately, we contacted Arunima Hospice, a nursing home for HIV positive patients. He was placed there late in the night," said Ajay Roy, a social worker.