AIIMS doesn’t care for a bullet in the head

Patient with a bullet lodged in his brain refused treatment for five days; is admitted after High Court orders but the delay may have caused serious damage

AIIMS doesn't care for a bullet in the head

Patient with a bullet lodged in his brain refused treatment for five days; is admitted after High Court orders but the delay may have caused serious damage

For the best in the land, including the Prime Minister, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is the ultimate healthcare destination. But the government-run institute doesn't always extend the same care to the common man. Not even if the patient has a bullet lodged in his brain and is referred for treatment by a state government.

It took a stern order from the Delhi High Court to shake the authorities at the premier medical institute into action and admit Shivlal Soren from Jharkhand, who was being shuttled between various departments of the hospital for the last five days. Soren was admitted at the AIIMS Trauma Centre on Tuesday evening. Ironically, Soren had been referred to AIIMS by the Jharkhand government and was accompanied by three police officials from the state.

The 21-year-old patient from village Saraipan in Jharkhand was shot at by the state police on December 6, 2008 during a tribal demonstration. The Jharkhand police arrested Soren for his involvement in the demonstration and after unsuccessfully treating him at local hospitals brought him to Delhi on January 31 this year.

"The bullet is lodged inside Soren's brain and he has lost vision in one eye. He can't see properly with the other eye as well. Authorities at AIIMS refused to admit him and referred him from one department to another. Had it not been for the High Court's order Soren might have had to wait endlessly for treatment. Even the Jharkhand police officials were helpless," said Jai Singh, Soren's advocate.

The three cops ferried the hapless patient for five days from one department of AIIMS to another. "First, we took the patient to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, where doctors denied him admission saying that as his eye had been damaged he should be taken to the Eye Casualty. But the doctors at Eye Casualty said that Soren had to be treated by the neurosurgery department," Singh added.

Meanwhile, a Delhi-based NGO that had been following Soren's progress filed a petition on behalf of his mother in the Delhi High Court. The court on Tuesday asked the advocate of AIIMS to forward the matter to the medical superintendent of the hospital and ensure that Soren be admitted immediately.

What made Soren's situation worse was the meager grant of Rs 35 that he was entitled to from the Jharkhand government kitty. "The amount was supposed to take care of his meals," said Surender Nath Mishra, the assistant sub-inspector from Jharkhand Police, who had accompanied Soren.

The Jharkhand government hadn't foreseen a situation where the hospital would refuse him accommodation and treatment. An NGO from Jharkhand was footing Soren's bill at the guest house at Yusuf Sarai near AIIMS where he was staying along with the police officials.

However, Soren's plight hasn't yet ended. The continuous shifting, coupled with the strenuous train journey from Jharkhand, affected Soren's condition and his situation has deteriorated. "The hospital authorities have been saying that there is no bed available. Now, doctors at the Trauma Centre said that if he had been treated properly earlier, the bullet could have been removed. Because of the delay it will now be next to impossible. The eye doctors will test him for loss of eye sight too," said Soren's mother Panshuri Hemran.

Meanwhile, authorities at AIIMS are finally getting ready to treat the patient. "Patient Shivlal, who has been referred from the High Court, has been examined in the RP Centre Casualty and from there he has been referred to the Neurosurgery Trauma Centre. The senior resident on duty has been instructed to examine the patient and undertake whatever treatment is required," said AIIMS Medical Superintendent DK Sharma.