11 patients die in Ggn's pvt hospitals daily, RTI reveals

Gurugram: With 3,643 deaths recorded in the last 11 months, statistics show that an average of 11 people lose their lives daily in major private hospitals of Gurugram.

The information was provided to activist Mohit Khatana by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram, over an RTI petition filed by him.

With over 1,430 deaths Medanata Hospital leads the charts, with four deaths daily.

Other hospitals in the list are Artemis at 715 deaths, Park with 505, Paras with 458, Fortis with 314 and Max with 221.

The data reflects how highly residents of Gurugram, as well as those of neighbouring states like Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, are dependant on the city's private hospitals.

Recently, Bhupendra Singh Yadav, the son of former Rajasthan minister, died of swine flu in one such private hospital.

"One of the reasons for such a high number of deaths is the large numbers of patients coming from outside areas.

"Most of them come in serious conditions that does not get adequate medical treatment in the hospital in their areas," said a senior doctor, requesting anonymity.

Even as ethical practices of private hospitals are being questioned, poor public healthcare has pushed patients towards the privates.

In a reply to one of Khatana's earlier RTI queries, it was revealed that the absence of a trauma centre led to over 10,000 patients being referred to Delhi government hospitals between 2004 and October 2017.

Notwithstanding the controversies surrounding top hospitals, another RTI reply revealed that 224 private clinics in Gurugram were being run by quacks.

Taking cognisance of the issue, the Haryana government wishes to enforce the Clinical Establishment Act.

However, the passage of the bill has been rocky, as doctors in private hospitals have expressed their dismay over the law and even threatened strikes.