Jayant Singh from Delhi and Gopendra Singh Parmar from Rajasthan, are not related. But they now share a brotherhood – last year, both their seven year-old children died from severe dengue after treatment in private hospitals in Gurgaon, with bills of nearly Rs 16 lakh each.
It is not uncommon for families to feel aggrieved by private hospitals in India. The awareness of the shrewd practices of these big corporate hospitals has risen over the last two years, as the government has been regulating their prices and practices. Families usually cut their losses, both familial and financial, and try to get on with life.
Normally, it is uncommon for families to fight back. And that is what these two fathers have been doing, both in their personal cases, and in supporting each other.
When Jayant Singh’s seven year-old daughter Adya Singh died last September, it might have been just another “routine” death for Fortis Hospital in Gurgaon, more so since dengue is an annual occurrence. But an anonymous Twitter account with the name DopeFloat, began to post a string of tweets along with photos of Jayant’s bills from Fortis hospital in November – his little girl died from dengue shock syndrome after being in Fortis for several days. The family was given a bill of nearly Rs 16 lakh. Jayant’s sister-in-law also posted on Facebook. The two posts were shared over 40,000 times. The media swarmed and Jayant was on national television for many nights after that.
The health minister, JP Nadda, himself took cognisance of DopeFloat’s tweet. “Please provide me details on hfwminister@gov.in. We will take all the necessary action,” he tweeted.
Please provide me details on hfwminister@gov.in .We will take all the necessary action. https://t.co/dq273L66cK
— Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) November 20, 2017
And they did take action- The government, usually slothful and unconcerned to even issue clarifications on important issues, began activating its machinery to probe the death of Jayant’s seven-year-old daughter.
In December, another family went through a similar tragedy. Gopendra Singh Parmar, a resident of a small town in Rajasthan, took his seven-year-old son to Medanta Hospital in Gurgaon. The boy had dengue as well. He died after days of treatment at the hospital and the family was also handed a bill of nearly Rs 16 lakh.
The two families are currently grieving very similar tragedies, but they have had very different outcomes from it. While the fathers have been united in their pursuit for justice, coming together to hold press conferences and demand action, events this year have shown just how differently the system can work for people in India.
Medanta Hospital pays off bereaved father, Gopendra, if he withdraws his criminal case against them.
He did.
Rs15lak+ was the price for Medanta’s impunity.
Gopendra’s son Shourya died last yr with a bill of Rs 15lak+. pic.twitter.com/5dNvVzIksG— Anoo Bhuyan (@AnooBhu) March 29, 2018
On the one hand, Jayant has just had a writ petition admitted in the Supreme Court which is calling for wider reforms. The Haryana police has reluctantly begun a criminal investigation in the case after the state government itself filed an FIR. None of this was easy for Jayant, but with persistence, support and knowledge, he has been pushing the system open.
On the other hand, there is Gopendra – even four months after he wrote an eight page complaint to the Haryana police, they have not filed an FIR. Now he says he cannot.
As The Wire reported last week, a letter from the union health minister’s office was sent to Medanta asking them to refund his money. Medanta did, but they used their upper hand to silence Gopendra. He says he signed a letter saying he would withdraw his police complaint in exchange for Rs 15.6 lakh. Gopendra told The Wire, “If we had pursued a legal case, we would have been living on the street.” He has now taken the money and withdrawn his police complaint.
Similar yet different tragedies
When tragedy hit Jayant, he mustered the strength to speak up and oppose what happened with his family. It was not easy, but the media was on his side. The central and state governments made some public statements of acting on his case, but Jayant said the real process he underwent was, in fact, harassment. But Jayant had an understanding corporate job which allowed him time off and had access to top lawyers who prepared him for what lay ahead.