“Hospital Is Not A Shelter Home”: Calcutta High Court Orders Husband To Take Home Accident-Survivor Wife After 4 Years

The Calcutta High Court recently directed a man to take home his wife, who had been admitted to Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals Limited since September 2021 following a road accident, after a medical board found that she no longer required indoor hospitalization and could be cared for at home with trained paramedical assistance.Justice Krishna Rao observed that the case arose in “peculiar circumstances” and clarified that the order would not operate as a precedent in future cases.The writ petition had been filed by Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals seeking directions upon the State authorities to frame guidelines for handling cases where patients continue to remain in private hospitals despite discharge, with no family member willing to take them home. The hospital also sought transfer of the patient, Poonam Gupta, to a State-run facility.According to the hospital, the patient was admitted on September 15, 2021, with severe traumatic head injuries after falling from a two-wheeler and subsequently underwent emergency craniotomy.The hospital alleged that the patient's husband had paid only Rs.15,000 at the time of admission and thereafter refused both to clear the mounting dues and to take his wife back home. It informed the Court that the outstanding bill from September 2021 till September 2024 exceeded Rs.1.09 crore, of which only Rs.5.7 lakh had been approved by the insurance company.The husband, however, submitted before the Court that he was not financially capable of paying the hospital charges or caring for his wife. He further alleged that the hospital had failed to provide proper treatment, resulting in deterioration of the patient's condition.During the proceedings, the Court directed the Medical Superintendent of Calcutta Medical College and Hospital to constitute a committee of specialists to examine the patient and assess whether she could be discharged and whether further treatment was necessary.The committee, comprising experts from geriatrics, neurology, medicine, surgery and gynecology, found that the patient was conscious, hemodynamically stable, capable of feeding herself and no longer required ICU-level treatment.The report concluded:“Thus, we had come to the opinion that patient can be discharged for homestay. She needs physical rehabilitation which can be done at home.”The committee further stated that periodic tracheostomy tube care could be managed at home by trained paramedical staff, while tube replacement could be undertaken at hospitals as and when required.The State Government informed the Court that shelters for the urban homeless in West Bengal were not equipped to handle recovering or ailing patients, and that no such facility existed for long-term medical care.Taking note of the medical board's findings, the Court directed the husband to take the patient home within one week of discharge and ensure proper care. It further ordered that if the patient required future treatment, she should be taken to a government hospital, which would provide immediate medical assistance and admit her if necessary.The Court also directed the State authorities to provide a wheelchair to the patient free of cost before discharge. Significantly, it held that considering the husband's financial condition, the hospital would not recover any dues either from the patient or from him, though it would remain free to pursue claims before the insurance company in accordance with law.Case Title: Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals Limited & Anr. v. State of West Bengal & Ors.Case No.: WPA 26195 of 2024Click here to read order

“Hospital Is Not A Shelter Home”: Calcutta High Court Orders Husband To Take Home Accident-Survivor Wife After 4 Years

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“Hospital Is Not A Shelter Home”: Calcutta High Court Orders Husband To Take Home Accident-Survivor Wife After 4 Years

Srinjoy Das

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Srinjoy Das

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