Dr Ashish pens a story about mistaken identity in a hospital, during the pandemic Covid-19. An exclusive for Different Truths.

Mr Malhotra was not feeling well. From last two days, he was feeling breathless, and his diabetes was also uncontrolled. His daughter, Aaisha, was very anxious about his health, especially in the current times of Covid-19 pandemic. Everywhere, people were avoiding each other in the name of social distancing. Even doctors were extremely cautious considering the issue of contamination.

Mr Malhotra had recently come from Maharashtra after auditing a company. He had developed a mild fever with occasional coughing. After six days of his landing, his daughter contacted the family doctor and conveyed her father’s symptoms. The doctor advised her to go for Covid-19 test considering the symptoms.

Mr Malhotra had recently come from Maharashtra after auditing a company. He had developed a mild fever with occasional coughing. After six days of his landing, his daughter contacted the family doctor and conveyed her father’s symptoms. The doctor advised her to go for Covid-19 test considering the symptoms. She asked for medicine which would provide quick relief until the testing was done. The doctor prescribed some medicines of fever and cough. Mr Malhotra was tested positive after two days, and an ambulance came and took him to a specialised Covid-19 hospital for the treatment. His family couldn’t understand what’s happening. No one was allowed to touch or talk. Only a few medical histories were asked of the patient and mobile number in case of emergency. All family members were kept in home isolation. They could neither go out nor visit the hospital. Her father had a small keypad phone with long-lasting battery backup. Every night, she called her father to know about his health. He reported that they were caring for him very well. He reassured her and told his daughter not to worry. His treatment continued.

On the seventh day, the phone’s battery went low, and it switched off after a few minutes. That made Mr Malhotra and Aaisha very anxious. She tried to establish contact with the hospital reception but only to hear the message “The number you have dialled is temporarily out of service.” Aaisha contacted one of her friends, Saurabh and requested him to visit the hospital and find out the situation of her father.

On reaching the hospital, Saurabh was neither allowed to enter the isolation wards nor was able to get any information regarding the health of Aaisa’s father. He wanted to bribe the guard with two hundred rupees, but the guard refused to be a part. He said, “I can’t go inside even if you give me 2000 Rupees.”

On reaching the hospital, Saurabh was neither allowed to enter the isolation wards nor was able to get any information regarding the health of Aaisa’s father. He wanted to bribe the guard with two hundred rupees, but the guard refused to be a part. He said, “I can’t go inside even if you give me 2000 Rupees.” For the first time, people were seen being more conscious about their lives than that of the monetary inclination. But one help I can do in your favour, “I can inform you of the condition of the patient in the evening.” Guard said and taking the bribe money, began to sanitise it and asked Saurabh to maintain social distancing. Saurabh gave the details of Mr Malhotra from a proper distance and left his contact number with the guard.

Around 7 O’clock his phone rang. He received the call. It was from the guard who gave shocking news. Immediately, Saurabh called Aaisha and conveyed that her father was not well. He had been shifted in ICU and was put on the support of a ventilator. The news made Aaisha extremely worried. She, sharing the news with her mother, began to weep, and tears rolled down from both’s cheek silently.

After two days Aaisha got the dreaded call from the hospital, “We are sorry to inform you that your patient is no more. His immunity was not strong; we couldn’t save him. Tomorrow we will inform you about cremation. It would be best if you did not worry about it. And yes, there is no need to come to the hospital.”

Aaisha was thinking about her brother, who was an engineer in the USA and could not come back to discharge the duty of a son as per Hindu customs in such a lockdown condition.  Next day, Aaisha went with her mother with tear-filled eyes on cremation ground and with full safety gear of PPE kit, she lit the pyre

The news filled the house with clamour by the crying of mother and daughter so bitterly.

Aaisha was thinking about her brother, who was an engineer in the USA and could not come back to discharge the duty of a son as per Hindu customs in such a lockdown condition. Next day, Aaisha went with her mother with tear-filled eyes on cremation ground and with full safety gear of PPE kit, she lit the pyre to make her father relieve from this corporeal world. Several friends expressed their consolation on his demise through the phone.

Hardly a week had passed, when she got a notice from the court regarding an offence done by both her family and the hospital. Aaisha was shocked to see so many impending disasters in battalions within a short span of time. She was charged for cremating someone else’s dead body instead of her father. Due to the carelessness of hospital staff, people had been ignorantly cremating someone else’s family members during this pandemic. Since they were are not allowed to open and see the face of the dead body, they could hardly confirm the identity of the deceased. Now the question before Aaisha was who had cremated her father?

In the probe, it was found that the petitioner Rayeesh, who was an advocate by profession, brought his uncle to the hospital in moderate condition and allotted bed No 21, but the health of the patient was not good enough to fight with the virus.

The investigation started under the supervision of a High Court judge. Prima facie various sorts of carelessness on the part of hospital authorities came out, like the improper record of admitted patients, lack of coordination at every level, incorrect tagging, wrong telephonic information etc. And all these happened due to sudden change in duty schedule of hospital staff, their quarantine process, sudden change of wards of patients as per condition, an increasing number of patients etc. The High Court imposed a hefty fine at the hospital for poor management and negligence in service. In the probe, it was found that the petitioner Rayeesh, who was an advocate by profession, brought his uncle to the hospital in moderate condition and allotted bed No 21, but the health of the patient was not good enough to fight with the virus. His respiratory system collapsed at midnight, and he passed away. And his family was handed over someone else’s dead body for the burial.

On that day, a few minutes before, Aaisha’s father was shifted to ICU from the same bed. The investigation was a boon in disguise for them, and it was revealed that Mr Malhotra was still alive. He was still under treatment in ICU and was fighting with full spirits. While elated with the sudden good turn of fate, Aaisha was also repenting for the dead man, who should have been buried and not cremated.

Photo from the Internet