The Eman Ahmed case has turned into a heavyweight PR nightmare

I am not particularly a fan of Shobhaa De. But this is one time she has actually hit the nail on the head. In her column in a Mumbai-based tabloid, she recently wrote, “From the day a decision was taken to offer Eman a new shot at a comparatively healthier existence, not a single detail was spared to publicise her risky, challenging journey from Egypt to India, where she was promised free treatment and all the possible medical care...This unusual and generous offer was personally made by Dr Muffazal Lakdawala, a media-savvy, photogenic bariatric surgeon on behalf of the Saifee team, when he flew to Egypt with the offer. The hospital has spent over Rs 2 crore on her treatment so far. True. But it has also generated crores worth of international publicity for itself and Dr Lakdawala”. Shobaa got trolled.

The doctors at Saifee, especially Lakdawala (Muffi to friends) got very agitated. And miffed. Shobhaa, however, was right: the Eman Ahmed case is grabbing headlines all over the world; and India’s global showpiece of medical tourism is suddenly turning into a heavyweight PR nightmare!

Brought to Mumbai from Egypt in early February with the promise of a never-before bariatric procedure, the world's heaviest woman, Eman Ahmed, has seen her weight go from 500 kg to some 175 kg or so. But what should have been the celebration of a medical miracle is now mired in controversy with the patient's sister Shaimaa Salim alleging that: 

1. Ahmed's weight isn’t really what the doctors say

2. Her sister isn’t recovering; in fact, her condition is deteriorating day by day

3. The doctors have cheated them. Having extracted maximum PR value out of Eman, they want to now send her home prematurely. Shaimaa and Muffi had a spat. An ugly, and very public one at that. But that was only to be expected.
 

The Eman Ahmed case raises a number of interesting and ethical issues, especially around medical public relations (PR) and allied motivations.
 

- Crowd funding platform BitGiving which has so far raised Rs 21,14,217 for Eman has a passionate plea on video by Dr Muffi to contribute to help save Eman. The site is full of the doctor, his qualifications, his achievements … looks almost a Lakdawala mouthpiece. 
 

- A blog called SaveEman (some say actively supported by the team of doctors looking after her) had updated pictures of Eman at any given point of time, pictorially capturing her ‘progress’. Was this not intrusion on a patient’s privacy? Even if the intent supposedly was to raise funds?
 

- SaveEman also has every medical detail of Ahmed’s case shared on the blog, a sure case of over-enthusiasm by her medical team. While there is no quarrel among doctors sharing information with their professional peers, the ethical way would be to publish case reviews in medical journals. Does using social media make for restrained, professional discourse? Perhaps not.
 

- Then there is the issue of ‘informed consent’ by the patient or relatives. In Eman’s case, the well-orchestrated PR machinery that surrounded her from the moment she arrived from Alexandria, perhaps never gave her a chance to actually give ‘consent’ to anything. No one surely asked her if her pictures should be shared. She was just the subject of a never-ending media circus… consent, worse informed consent, be damned.
 

- The Eman case won Lakdawala 'The Maharashtrian of the Year' Award from Lokmat. Another feather in his cap. And it gave him yet another platform to blow his Eman bugle.
 

- The fallout with Eman’s sister has been equally dramatic. 12 out 13 doctors working on her case refused to look after her any further. Dr Aparna Govil Bhasker, the doctor in-charge of Saifee Hospital’s bariatric unit actually posted on Facebook, “I hereby resign from the care of Eman Abd El Aty with immediate effect.” So much for social media savvy!
 

The Eman case actually has ramifications well beyond the current controversy. Especially for the medical tourism industry that has a lot of private sector hospitals, are assiduously cultivating out of India. The hype around Eman may initially have put Muffi Lakdawala, Saifee Hospital and India in a global spotlight. But the negativity that today surrounds the case has garnered a host of bad vibes all across the globe. The seriousness, and the professionalism, of India as a medical destination of choice has been seriously eroded. One Muffi alone has undone the good work, over many years, of many of his less flamboyant professional peers. And tainted India. Sad. Very sad.

The author is a Mumbai-based veteran communications professional. He has been in advertising, PR and media for over 30 years. He can be reached at sandeep@goyalmail.com