“I will die of fear here. There are dead bodies all around me. Please take me home," a sobbing Surinder Kumar told his shocked family over a phone call from LNJP Hospital, pleading to be taken home.
Kumar, a retired NDMC official, was admitted to the Delhi hospital on June 8 after he tested positive for Covid-19. He needs regular dialysis and suspects that he caught the novel coronavirus during one of the sessions.
At the LNJP Hospital emergency ward, he was greeted by the shocking sight of bodies lying around. But Kumar’s ordeal had just started.
"The ward boy came to give him oxygen and put the mask on his head rather than his nose. When we protested, bouncers threw us out. We didn't even get a chance to give my father the bag which had his phones and some food," Sandeep Lala, Kumar’s son told News18.
Over the next 24 hours, Kumar's family made several attempts to reach out to their father, but got no information. The family alleges that the staff on duty asked them to call the helpline, but the number went either unanswered or was busy. Finally, on Day 3, Sandeep bribed a sweeper to smuggle in a mobile phone.
"I called the mobile number repeatedly, but papa didn’t take the call. I called the helpline number and was assured that he is fine, but all night I kept calling and he didn’t answer," says Sandeep.
Surinder Kumar, meanwhile, was battling his own fear and hospital apathy on the third floor ward of the LNJP. He told News18 that he feared for his life given the conditions around him.
"Meri haalat kharab kar di LNJP waalon ne. Koi ilaj, koi vyavastha nahi thi. Sirf 2 bread dete the khane ko. Paani bhi nahi tha peene ko. Main agar 2-4 din aur ruk jaata toh main mar jaata wahan par. Wahan dead bodies ki line lag rahi thi sab jagah (LNJP worsened my health. There was no treatment and no arrangements. They gave me just two bread slices to eat and there was no water to drink either. I would have died had I spent even two more days there. Dead bodies were lined up everywhere),” Kumar, who continued to be Covid positive said over the phone from his residence where he is self-isolating.
On June 11, after calling on the helpline from 8 am to 4 pm, Kumar’s family were finally told by the hospital that their father had run away and a missing person’s complaint had been filed.
"I was shocked. How could my 60-year-old father who is unwell run away? My brother and I reached the hospital, and had a huge altercation with the staff. One Parminder called us from Mandir Marg police station where the complaint was registered to say that they are investigating. But we were not convinced," Sandeep told News18.
Sandeep and his brother snuck into the Covid ward to look for their father. The duo said they saw used PPE kits, filth and body bags lying all around. They went from ward to ward and finally located their father in a different ward from where he was supposed to be.
The hospital released Surinder Kumar after another round of altercation, but the family's ordeal is far from over.
Kumar still has coronavirus symptoms. A private hospital in Okhla assured bed availability on Monday, but turned them back when the family reached there. Sandeep claims it is because they wanted to use the NDMC medical card and not pay in cash upfront.
Surinder Kumar, meanwhile, is still breathless and awaiting dialysis.
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