Family Takes Body Home In A Pushcart After Hospital Said No To Ambulance

A 35-year-old woman battling tuberculosis died at the Badshah Khan Civil Hospital here, and her family said that they were forced to carry her body home on a motorised pushcart for nearly 12 kilometres as the hospital staff refused any transport assistance.

A video surfaced online, purportedly showing a man carrying a woman's body in a motorised pushcart. His son could be seen covering his mother's face with a cloth.

Following this, the chief medical officer (CMO) of the Badshah Khan (BK) Civil Hospital ordered an inquiry to identify any operational lapses at the hospital's emergency and trauma departments, the official said.

Anuradha Devi (35) died on Wednesday at the civil hospital after a months-long battle with tuberculosis. Her husband, Jhunjhun, said that he had exhausted his savings on her treatment at multiple hospitals, including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.

After his wife died, he had asked the staff at the civil hospital to arrange a hearse or an ambulance to move her body to their residence in Faridabad's Sarurpur village, but hospital staff refused to provide any such facility, Jhunjhun claimed.

"With no money left, the hospital's ambulance staff told me to arrange my own transport, and private operators quoted Rs 500 to Rs 700, which I could not pay. I was forced to ask my family members to arrange a pushcart to transport my wife's body," he said.

The journey stretched up to 10-12 kilometres, with Jhunjhun walking alongside his wife and their son holding a sheet covering his mother's body.

The family had to borrow money from their neighbours to perform the woman's last rites.

Hospital officials, however, said that government ambulances aren't meant to transport bodies, and that hearse vans via the Red Cross are available but require a formal request.

Faridabad Red Cross Secretary Bijender Saurat said ambulance services have been arranged within the hospital complex.

"When the control room informs them of a death, they provide a hearse to assist the victim's family. The service is offered completely free of cost. In this case, our department did not receive any call," he said.

Civil Surgeon at the BK Civil hospital, Dr Jayant Ahuja, said that an inquiry has been ordered into the incident, and action may be taken if staff negligence is found.

"A high-level committee of senior doctors at the hospital under Principal Medical Officer (PMO) Dr Ram Bhagat has been formed to examine allegations. The committee asked to submit the inquiry report as soon as possible. I will comment on the issue only after receiving the inquiry report", Dr Ahuja said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)