A patient found missing was later located by his neighbours and sent home, and hospital tells the wife to send him back to hospital using her own transport.
PETALING JAYA: A nine-month pregnant Ratha was shocked when she received a call from University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) advising that her husband was missing from the hospital ward.
S Sashi Kumar from the longhouse settlement in Petaling Jaya had been admitted to UMMC surgical ward and was under the care of a neurosurgeon for head injuries following an accident on Nov 5.
After two days in the intensive care unit (ICU), Sashi Kumar was transferred to the normal surgical ward upon regaining consciousness.
“I received a call from the hospital yesterday at 6pm asking me if I knew of my husband’s whereabouts. I was shocked as his friends who visited him earlier told me his condition had improved although he could not remember what had actually happened,” said his wife, Ratha.
Ratha, a housewife said she was unable to visit her husband as she is due to deliver her baby anytime now and needs to tend to her ten-month-old baby, as well.
When she received the call, Ratha immediately asked people in her neighbourhood for help and they went on a search for Sashi Kumar.
“The hospital is approximately four kilometres from the house and his friends spotted him somewhere nearby. He however, could not remember anything due to (his) head injuries,” she said.
Ratha blames the hospital for being negligent and said that she will take further action against the hospital.
She had intended to deliver her baby at the same hospital so that being in the same building would make it easier for her to visit and tend to her husband, if required.
Now, that her husband is no longer earning his daily wages due to his condition, she is left with no choice but to deliver her baby at home and hopes there will be no complications
“My husband is a loving man and has never left me and my baby alone. He works in a scrap metal factory and gets paid on a daily basis,” Ratha related her ordeal to FMT.
No ambulance to transport patient
Having located her husband, Ratha was happy that he was safe and all she wanted was to get him back to the hospital.
However when Ratha called the UMMC, she was advised that she would need to send him back to the hospital using her own transport facilities.
“We can’t afford a taxi and everyone is afraid should anything happen to the patient (Sashi Kumar) along the way, they do not want to be responsible,” she told FMT.
Ratha said that the hospital should be responsible as they were the ones who ‘lost’ their patient due to negligence.
“We found him, the hospital should be responsible for transporting him back,” she said.
When asked whether she was able to garner support from her parents or in-laws, Ratha said that her marriage was based on love and without the blessings of parents from both sides.
Therefore the couple’s parents are not getting involved in their ordeal. She is currently surviving with food provided by her neighbourhood and expects to deliver her second baby soon.
“We have no choice but to seek treatment from the government hospital as we can’t afford treatment from the private hospital. Now, it has reached a point where we can’t trust the government hospital,” she said in tears.
Ratha intends to pursue the case further after her delivery and says that she demands an explanation from the hospital regarding this incident.
When contacted UMMC said they were currently investigating the matter.
PETALING JAYA: A nine-month pregnant Ratha was shocked when she received a call from University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) advising that her husband was missing from the hospital ward.S Sashi Kumar from the longhouse settlement in Petaling Jaya had been admitted to UMMC surgical ward and was under the care of a neurosurgeon for head injuries following an accident on Nov 5.
After two days in the intensive care unit (ICU), Sashi Kumar was transferred to the normal surgical ward upon regaining consciousness.
“I received a call from the hospital yesterday at 6pm asking me if I knew of my husband’s whereabouts. I was shocked as his friends who visited him earlier told me his condition had improved although he could not remember what had actually happened,” said his wife, Ratha.
Ratha, a housewife said she was unable to visit her husband as she is due to deliver her baby anytime now and needs to tend to her ten-month-old baby, as well.
When she received the call, Ratha immediately asked people in her neighbourhood for help and they went on a search for Sashi Kumar.
“The hospital is approximately four kilometres from the house and his friends spotted him somewhere nearby. He however, could not remember anything due to (his) head injuries,” she said.
Ratha blames the hospital for being negligent and said that she will take further action against the hospital.
She had intended to deliver her baby at the same hospital so that being in the same building would make it easier for her to visit and tend to her husband, if required.Now, that her husband is no longer earning his daily wages due to his condition, she is left with no choice but to deliver her baby at home and hopes there will be no complications
“My husband is a loving man and has never left me and my baby alone. He works in a scrap metal factory and gets paid on a daily basis,” Ratha related her ordeal to FMT.
No ambulance to transport patient
Having located her husband, Ratha was happy that he was safe and all she wanted was to get him back to the hospital.
However when Ratha called the UMMC, she was advised that she would need to send him back to the hospital using her own transport facilities.
“We can’t afford a taxi and everyone is afraid should anything happen to the patient (Sashi Kumar) along the way, they do not want to be responsible,” she told FMT.
Ratha said that the hospital should be responsible as they were the ones who ‘lost’ their patient due to negligence.
“We found him, the hospital should be responsible for transporting him back,” she said.
When asked whether she was able to garner support from her parents or in-laws, Ratha said that her marriage was based on love and without the blessings of parents from both sides.
Therefore the couple’s parents are not getting involved in their ordeal. She is currently surviving with food provided by her neighbourhood and expects to deliver her second baby soon.“We have no choice but to seek treatment from the government hospital as we can’t afford treatment from the private hospital. Now, it has reached a point where we can’t trust the government hospital,” she said in tears.
Ratha intends to pursue the case further after her delivery and says that she demands an explanation from the hospital regarding this incident.
When contacted UMMC said they were currently investigating the matter.
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