Lying in the unclean underpass, they wait day after day, night after night, for their turn at treatment. For some, the wait stretches on. For others, time may be running out.
Fifteen-year-old Tanvi from Rajasthan’s Kota , who had a congenital heart defect, died on Tuesday at AIIMS. But these families have nowhere else to turn. Her father, Mukesh Pariyani, alleged that despite surgery being discussed and dates being given and later changed, the procedure never took place, and that the family had been waiting for years. For Naushad Khan from Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, the wait lasted one and a half years. His son, who has a brain tumour, finally underwent surgery a month ago. Raza Khatoon from Bihar has already spent weeks here, sleeping in the underpass near AIIMS. “We don’t have money for private treatment. Cancer treatment is very expensive. The issue is that it takes time for check-ups. There is no place to stay. We keep lying down here, our clothes stink, we can’t even freshen up. Travelling expenses are high, but treatment is free.
Because of its subsidised costs, aIIMS is not just any government hospital, for many, it is their last hope, offering treatment they can afford. Because of her complex cardiac anatomy, and she was managed medically instead, aIIMS, however, has said Tanvi was diagnosed with ventricular septal defect (VSD) with pulmonary atresia in 2012 and evaluated for surgery in 2013, but by 2018 doctors had concluded that surgery was not feasible. Because there is nowhere to stay, for others, the wait means repeatedly moving between their villages and the hospital,.
AIIMS said she was later admitted on 24 August for evaluation for a possible heart-lung transplant, and underwent an endoscopy, but suffered a hypoxic episode followed by cardiac arrest and died on Tuesday. She earns just Rs 5,000 a month and says private treatment is unaffordable. We came at 1 am.
We don’t know when our turn will come,” said Anil, whose brother has cancer.
