Doctor Slaps HIV Positive Patient at Hospital - Mumbai, India

[Guest guest]

Dear FORUM,

In a shocking incident, a female patient in hospital complained of being

slapped by a resident doctor who was upset that she had not revealed her HIV

status to him.

The matter came to light when a social worker with HOPE foundation,( an NGO that

works for AIDS awareness with AVERT Society in Nehrunagar, Parle west ) met the

patient in the intensive care unit of the hospital.

Apparently the patient was admitted in to the hospital on May 13th, after she

complained of acute pain in the abdomen.

She was diagnosed of having multiple perforations in the intestines and was

taken up for surgery the next day.

It was only on the following day that the doctors realised that she was HIV

positive and when confronted she admitted that it was true.

This apparently upset the resident doctor who reportedly slapped her inside the

intensive care unit where she was kept for post - operative care. The social

worker said that the patient was crying when she met her, and narrated the

entire incident to her. The patient was scared that she would not be treated

properly at the hospital and kept saying that she wanted to go home.

In fact the doctor is even reported to have told the patient that she will not

survive, which further sent her in to a state of depression.

After this the social workers tok up the issue with the hospital administration.

The NGO has made an official complaint with the hospital administration and is

demanding that action should be taken against the erring doctor, so that

patients do not have to go through this again.

Deepak Dobhal

Program Director - West Region

HOPE foundation

E-mail: <hopemum@...>