HIGH COURT DIRECTS DHARAMSHILA HOSPITAL NOT TO DISCHARGE CANCER PATIENT TILL COMPLETION OF TREATMENT

The Delhi High Court (Dr. Justice S. Muralidhar) today directed Dharamshila hospital not to discharge a 17 year old EWS Cancer patient till competition of treatment.

Delhi High Court earlier on 03.06.2015 had issued notices to ESIC, Govt. of India, Ministry of Labour and Dharamshila Hospital on denial of free treatment to Soumaya Ranjan suffering from Anaplastic Large CellLymphoma, a form of Cancer. Soumaya’s father, an ESIC-insured person, Basant Kumar (M-8587983741), had filed petition through Advocate Ashok Agarwal in the High Court against ESIC for its refusal to make referral to empanelled Dharamshila Hospital for treatment of his son and also against Dharamshila Hospital for arbitrary denial of treatment.

Since Soumaya was critical, he had been discharged by ESI Hospital, Basai Darapur, on 23.05.2015 and referred to AIIMS/ESIC empanelled Hospital. Basant Kumar on 25.05.2015 had approached Dharamshila Hospital, which is empanelled with ESIC, but in the absence of a specific referral letter from ESIC addressed to Dharamshila Hospital, Dharamshila Hospital had denied treatment. The ESIC, on the other hand, had refused to issue the requisite referral letter. The patient had been lying outside Dharamshila Hospital since 25.05.2015, awaiting treatment. It continued till 30.05.2015 when upon intervention by EWS Beds Monitoring Committee Members Advocate Ashok Agarwal and Dr. R.N Das, the patient was admitted by Dharamshila Hospital under EWS category. Moreover, on 02 June 2015, while the patient was in the ICU of Dharamshila Hospital and his removal therefrom could have endangered his life, against all medical norms and professional ethics, Dharamshila Hospital had taken the patient to ESIC Hospital at Noida in its Ambulance just to obtain the referral-letter from the ESIC.

The next date of hearing is 22.07.2015.

ASHOK AGARWAL, ADVOCATE         
M: 9811101923  
10.06.2015