A woman social worker has slapped a legal notice on the dean of JJ Hospital here for allegedly "throwing out" a mentally-challenged youth from the hospital last year without completing his medical treatment for severe leg injury.
The 22-year-old youth, Krishna Mane, died around a month later.
Social worker Siddh Vidya, who is also an advocate, said that since Mane was not given proper medical treatment and moved out of hospital, he died.
On April 7 last year, Siddh Vidya had spotted Mane in suburban Nerul, whose one leg was earlier injured in a train accident and had developed gangrene. She found him in an unconscious state, following which she brought him to a nearby hospital, from where he was referred to JJ Hospital.
In the legal notice that the social worker has served on JJ Hospital dean Dr T P Lahane, she said, "Tossing out a helpless patient like Krishna Mane is a criminal act. My RTI queries have found that government is spending a lot of money to maintain such departments to ensure well-being of patients like him, who was not only severely injured, but was also a roadside orphan, mentally-challenged, poorest of poor, homeless, and illiterate."
"Initially, the JJ administration denied him admission stating that he did not have an I-card. After my strong protest, they finally admitted him. However, they did not maintain his treatment records. After two days, I was shocked when I got a call from a railway passenger saying that Mane was lying at Sandhurst Road railway station and was asking for me (as Mane had her mobile number). I instantly realised that hospital management has tossed the patient," she said.
"When I enquired at the hospital, a doctor said that Mane was referred to J J Hospital police station for being taken to a beggars' home. However, when enquired at JJ Police, they straightaway denied that any such patient was handed over to them," she said.
