Court serves notice to JN hospital for refusing treatment to HIV+

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Court serves notice to JN hospital for refusing treatment to HIV+ patient

By : Newmai News Network 11/17/2007 1:17:12 AM

Imphal, Nov 16: The Imphal Bench of the Gauhati High Court has served

a show-cause notice to the Manipur health secretary, director health

services, medical superintendent of Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital and

medical officer, department of medicine, JN Hospital for failing to

treat an HIV+ patient but instead referring him to the Regional

Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) Hospital.

This has been stated by Joykumar Wahengbam, Research Program Associate

of Centre for Organisation Research and Education (CORE) while

addressing mediapersons at CORE office Wangkhei in Imphal East this

evening.

One person hailing from Imphal west district was admitted to JN

Hospital medicine ward after consulting the outdoor patient department

of the hospital on September 29 last. The patient was suffering from

pain due to leg swelling and having respiratory problem.

On October 2, the MO of medicine department, after seeing the

condition of the patient on his routine checking, summoned the

patient's wife and parents to his office chamber and revealed that the

man is a HIV+ patient and confessed that he could not be treated in

the hospital. He also said that the kidneys of the patient had failed

for the treatment by Dialysis machine which the hospital was lacking.

The doctor then referred the patient to be treated at the RIMS Hospital.

The mother of the patient in question filed a case in the Gauhati High

Court on November 8.

Responding to the petition filed by the patient's mother, the court

has today issued a call for explanation to the health authorities on

what ground the person could not be treated in JN Hospital and why it

referred him for treatment at RIMS hospital.

Source from Imphal Free Press, Manipur

www.ifp.co.in