Mar 02, 2017 03:54 PM
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I lost my mother in January 2012 to renal failure. the loss was made 200 times worse due to the previous 11 months that we experienced with the so called leading nephrologist attached with Apollo Dr V Lakshminarayan.
Being at Apollo Gleneagles made me feel how cheap a life is and how tarnished the medical profession has become - thanks to this hospital - that could have been the leading light in the eastern region.
They sure have a level playing field - poor and rich are fleeced, harrassed, neglected equally - that is the only NOBLE part - they do not really differentiate! I as a working professional had a harrowing time gettiing proper care on emergency hospitalisation of my mother on two occasions when the treating doctor a so called senior and'respected' Mr Lakshminarayan simply disappeared (on leave) without letting the family of patient know or even the minimum decency of a handover or briefing another doctor with case history. This was planned manslaughter - no less. He forced us( by telling us that there was no other alternative) to go for peritonial dialysis - and due to his tie up with pharma and solution suppliers recommended particular company/dealers. Two such lots had come filled with sand and soil in the carton containing such life saving solutions - it did not perturb or cause any discomfort to the Dr Lakshminarayan. All hospitalisations were doen after consulting him and on each occasion he had gone away on leave displaying a most unprofessional and low grade behaviour. I have dealt with hospitals and doctors in Mumbai - in my experience they are light years ahead in terms of care and professionalism shown strictly irrespective of patient's social or financial status - my regret was that I could not get second opinion or transfer my mother to another doctor and hospital in Mumbai or Kolkata due to the sudden deterioration in her condition.
Personally I had only heard of phrases like'death trap' and'no one coming out alive after any serious illness from Apollo' from my doctor friends, relatives and their friends. I experienced it through and through with my own mother, I could not save her. Most of the time during her hospitalisations at Apollo, I used to run around between different floors for test results, nurses who do not care to check in on patients round the clock even when saline bottle has to be replaced, run for payments( as those used to be like threats), physiotherapists not turning up on time, dieticians not providing right meals even after instructions. Nurses were pathetic outside of ICU. Obviously to keep costs low, hospital had deployed inexperienced trainees from kerala on duty who could neither speak hindi, english or bengali - so all communication used to be in sign language. Else I had to repeatedly go out of the cabin to look out for the matron or senior staff nurse. There were occasions when the meal was so delayed that it came just before patient had to be wheeled out for endoscopy - so the patient eventually had to go without a meal for very long hours.
Worst, during last few months of illness, a constant stomach ache/cramp could not be diagnosed and only at a last stage it was found to be a stomach TB - the culture was done in November 2011 and seen in Jan 2012!( Dr V V Lakshminarayanan never bothered to check with hospital lab on the report or test result of his OWN patient) - we were never told about the culture - the TB was due to obviously an infection brought about by the peritoneal dialysis of which only Dr Lakshminarayanan and Apollo Hospital knew. We only came to know because the replacement doctor Soumya Gupta(who had to step in when Dr Lakshminarayanan disappeared to attend a family wedding as we understood from other doctors/staff at Apollo) shared this with us and asked if we knew. At least there could have been relief if the diagnosis was made on time and some medicine could have been administered to alleviate the pain of the patient - my mother.
In the ICU, people were allowed to wear their shoes, beds were kept quite close so patients had the least pleasant experience - one can imagine such a scenario in a small nursing home but not in a giant hospital chain as Apollo. Its a sham.
The big halo around the position of a CEO of the Apollo Gleneagles has been equally misplaced - they are all in the game of business. I had written a mail to CEO Dr Rupali Basu sometime in February 2012, pointing out all the serious lapses and how the doctors especially Dr V Lakshminarayanan were hopelessly mercenary in their attitude. Other than a perfunctory response promising to get her team to look into the allegations, nothing was done. My grief deterred me from carrying out a battle as I was also told that complainants were harassed and counter suits were filed by the hospital. I later heard that hospital like Apollo Gleneagles had business targets( NOT how well a patient is treated or received or saved) so I was told by others from the medical fraternity that a nephrologist at Apollo would be more focused on carrying out a certain number of kidney transplants for brownie points for hospital and LOADS OF MONEY etc instead of'wasting' their precious consulting hours in overseeing patients who are terminally ill. How horrific!
All bad deeds have to pay the price - justice may be delayed but never denied - whether directly or indirectly. Loss of reputation and trust for a hospital can NEVER EVER be compensated by pots of money much of it through fleecing and squeezing people who go through traumatic times getting their loved ones to be medically cared for and treated with timely professional intervention and compassion.
I am grateful to the honourable CM of West Bengal for the bold decision and steps taken rather than allowing unscrupulous medical corporate houses and hospitals to hide behind their continuing misdeeds. AMRI Dhakuria has already suffered its own fate - it also has had a similar past. Its a laudable and decisive action from the Honble Chief Minister that will resonate with countless people who have been victimised by the system over the years. Many other states will be bound to follow. This rampant shameless commercialisation of a so called noble profession must be closely scrutinised and monitored constantly.
