Refugee patient turned away by hospital without treatment

Forced out of his country of origin, Thi Poeng, a refugee from Myanmar in India was denied free treatment by Max Devki Devi Heart and Vascular Institute, Saket. Thi is ailing from a critical heart condition.

According to rules, if a person is recognised as a refugee by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), s/he is entitled to free treatment in India under the economically weaker sections (EWS) category.

Thi holds a refugee ID Card No. 513-09C00498 since 2008. His family income is merely Rs 2,000 per month which he gets from UNHCR as a subsistence allowance on account of being an extremely vulnerable refugee family. The eligibility income limit for an EWS patient for receiving free treatment under EWS category from private aided hospitals is below Rs 8,086 per month. Max Devki Devi has been built on government land.

‘I along with a friend, Mang Kung, approached Max Hospital for free treatment last week. The hospital instead of providing free treatment turned me away saying I am a foreign refugee,’ Thi told Millennium Post.

‘I went to Mahesh, EWS nodal officer of the Max Hospital in Saket and requested him to provide me free treatment under EWS category. Mahesh told me he will get back to me but hasn’t responded as yet,’ Thi said.

‘I also approached the office of UNHCR on 6 February and after great efforts was able to get a family income certificate which indicates that my family income is Rs 2,000 per month. After getting hold of this certificate I again approached Max Hospital and requested them to give me the required treatment. The hospital even after taking the original copy of income certificate from 

me flatly refused treatment,’ he said.

Ashok Agarwal, a social jurist, said, ‘He (Thi) came to me for help and I called Mahesh, EWS nodal officer, and enquired as to why Thi Poeng was not been given free treatment under EWS category even after producing his income certificate. Mahesh then said that the treatment was denied because Thi Poeng is a foreign refugee on Indian land.’

‘Such a conduct on the part of the hospital is not only unethical and illegal but also in violation of orders passed by Delhi High Court and Supreme Court to provide free treatment to EWS patients to the extent of 10 per cent indoor patient department and 25 per cent outdoor patient department,’ Agarwal said.

The hospital officials did not respond despite several attempts made to seek their response.