NHRC seeks report on refusal of treatment to HIV patient

New Delhi, July 24 (UNI) The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Director General of Health Services in Kerala to submit a report within four weeks on the petition of a leading NGO against a private hospital alleging that it had turned down treatment to a HIV positive patient.

A similar notice was also issued to the Chief Medical Officer of the Cosmopolitan hospital in Thiruvananthapuram seeking information relevant to the petition.

In its petition, the Foundation for Integrated Research in Mental Health (FIRM) said the Cosmopolitan hospital had discharged Ashok K Nair after he revealed about his HIV status.

He was admitted to the hospital on May 28 after he had a fall from the scooter.

FIRM President Lalu Joseph, who came down to the capital city to file the complaint before the Commission, alleged in his complaint that he also accompanied Ashok to the private hospital where the doctors said he had to be operated upon as there were three serious fractures in his left leg.

However, when his HIV status was revealed, the hospital discharged him saying that it did not have facilities to do the operation. He was then admitted to the Government Medical College hospital where he was given immediate attention.

"The excuse the doctors at the Cosmopolitan hospital offered was not correct as any hospital having trauma care unit ought to have such facilities," the petitioner alleged, pointing out that the hospital was one of the best-equipped private hospitals in Kerala.

He alleged that the hospital even refused to provide an ambulance to carry Ashok to the medical college.

"There is a serious issue of human rights violations involved, especially when the victim is HIV positive. The stigma and discrimination meted out to Ashok by the Cosmopolitan hospital have to be viewed against the backdrop of serious efforts being done in India to bring down the stigma of and discrimination against HIV patients," the petitioner said.

UNI