“My Father Will Die, Soon Or Very Soon”: A Delhiite’s Note On Devastated Indian Medical System
“My father will die, soon or very soon”, Pallav Singh, a Delhiite, recently took to his official X (formerly Twitter) handle and shared his painful experience while encountered with the treatment procedures of his seriously ill father at the Delhi All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). He described the difficulties the family faced and expressed himself as a prototype of all the Indian middle-class families.
“My father will die, soon or very soon. Yes, I know what I am saying”, wrote Mr Singh on Monday. According to him, Mr Singh penned down the recent happenings of his life while standing in a queue at the AIIMS Delhi. AIIMS is a group of autonomous public medical colleges in India, and was established by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Mr Singh introduced himself as one among the Indian middle-class people, who constituted most of the Indian population. While he received the hospital bill, for the treatment of his father, the sum made him revelation that Mr Singh is about to become ‘poor’ from the current ‘middle-class’ status. In a gripping way, he wrote, “I don’t think I will be able to save my father”.
My father will die, soon or very soon.
Yes, I know what I am saying.
I am writing this while standing in a queue at AIIMS Delhi
Please read🙏.
— Pallav Singh (@pallavserene) December 4, 2023
Pallav Singh’s father encountered a heart attack on September 15, this year. They were natives of Deoria in Uttar Pradesh and the family instantly took their father to the nearest medical facility in Gorakhpur. He was then diagnosed with blockage in three of his arteries and informed that only 20% of his heart was functioning, inefficient to save his life. The doctors then referred the patient to a higher centre for further treatment.
As per the suggestion Mr Singh brought his father to Delhi AIIMS late November. Adding to his fateful condition, Mr Singh’s sister was forced to wait in a queue for at least 24 hours to get an appointment to see the Cardiologist. They got the appointment and a date for a test that would be conducted a week later. “I did not think I”d be able to save him that day, but fortunately, nothing happened”. Thus, they waited a week to get done of the echocardiogram.
— Pallav Singh (@pallavserene) December 4, 2023
A doctor, “a very reputed senior professor, Padma Awardee”, consulted the father, said the patient was very week, and asked them to leave after prescribing medicines. But they were not informed when they were supposed to come back. “Yes, later, and no date!” They came back a week after and realized that their father needs an urgent surgery. “Then why did not Dr refer him to a surgeon? No idea”. “Roamed in private hospitals for 45 days and realised getting surgery done privately will lead us to sell all what we have, if not house”, Mr Singh added.
They found the doctor was on leave and had no idea of his return. The doctor came after 15 days and Mr Singh was able to see him after another 24 hours of queue. “Dr refers to Surgery. Why now and not then?” They finally managed to get the appointment of the Surgeon, but he came only after four hours. “Waiting for 4 hours with a seriously ill heart patient on an iron chair in winter!” The family was asked to leave after submitting the documents, and were said to visit back on the next day, the recent Sunday. But on Sunday the doctor was not there and Mr Singh and his ill father waited till Monday.
Please come to Mumbai , we will do the surgery in Sion hospital as early as possible ( within 3-4 days).
— Dr Prashant Mishra (@drprashantmish6) December 4, 2023
As he said, the procedures of the AIIMS will take at least another year to get done with his father”s’ surgery. “My father, a diabetic patient on insulin, aged 52 with heart function at 20%, will need to wait for at least 13 months to get his surgery done”. The patient has only least chances to survive till that time, and the surgery will cost at least one lakh rupees, unaffordable by the family. They had no other major source of income other than Mr Singh’s salary. He had been already in the same AIIMS for the last two years for his mother’s treatment, “a subject of research”.
“If I happened to be a minister, the same hospital would run behind me. “But I happen to be the middle class one, the voter, who is the king during elections, and no one after that”, he added. He slammed the Indian medical system and attributed it to a “mess”, “some corrupt and dishonest”. “I am shattered, broken, devastated, penny-less, but alive, for now at least!”, he added in conclusion.
As the post went viral soon, several come up with helping hands. Dr Prashant Mishra, a Cardiac Surgeon, from Mumbai requested Mr Singh to come to Mumbai and offered surgery at the Sion hospital as early as possible, “within 3-4 days”. He extended free-of-cost service if the family come to Mumbai and also promised to raise the money necessary for the treatment through crowdfunding if they are not willing to travel. Many have also come forward with helps to book flight tickets for the family to reach Mumbai.
@pallavserene Let me know if you need flight tickets
I”ll be happy to book a Mumbai flight for you
You are not alone, System may be corrupt but humanity is still alive
— Curious Shubham – NISM Certified (@Curious_Shubh) December 4, 2023
