Though Fortis Group is recognized as one of the best in the medical fraternity with a huge empire to boast of, my experience at Fortis Hospital, Vasant Kunj turned into a nightmare in just 7 days. My father was admitted here under Dr. Sabyasachi Bal and Dr. Rakesh Kumar with a ‘promise and assurance of quality life’. My father was in doubt that his lungs carried anything malignant and these doctors suggested that through means of a biopsy, underlying problems will come out clear in the picture and it’s a very safe process. He was admitted for a procedure called Plueroscopy/ thocacoscopy (biopsy of the lungs) purely to get a satisfaction although all the previous reports were clear and he was doing fine. We were also informed that it was only a 45 mins procedure and he should revive back the next day.
The day his surgery was performed and for the next 3 days my father showed signs of improvement and the biopsy results were clear too. However, on the 4th day he abruptly acquired an infection(where we were hoping that the doctors would shift him out of the ICU). He was unable to breathe properly. We weren’t told about the cause of infection by any of the doctors and they kept shunning our queries until we scanned the reports ourselves and found out that the infections were due to bacteria which are hospital-borne.
My father was put on 100% life support on the 5th day of his stay as the infection spread all over his body in 24-48 Hrs. What surprised us the most was that the doctors at the ICU were carefree after putting him onto the ventilator and showed untimeliness in giving the right antibiotics. Knowing that his body showed increased swelling day by day( sign of septic, septicemia) which is no ordinary condition, we were told that this is due to the clogged food in his wind pipe and it was nothing but gas accumulation hence the swelling. They kept on experimenting on him, performing all the not-required tests on him building on the bill for the family to bear.
The ICU where he was kept was the most unhygienic one could imagine. There were uncovered dustbins right next to the beds and flies wandering over his body and the only remedy they had was to remove the flies by means of an electric fly swatter. 24 hrs visitors were allowed inside. We were shocked to see the condition of the ICU but were helpless about it. My father’s condition kept deteriorating and the doctors had no answers to us in fact when we told them we know about the bacteria so we were told straight off “We are living in India, bacteria are very common and they live on our palms too”.
My father succumbed to his condition and died on the 7th day due to negligence of the doctors and the hospital that caused Septicemia in his body. The bacteria which came out clear in his blood reports were Pseudomonas and MRSA. We were horrified to know about these when we Googled that such levels of bacteria breed in hospitals like Fortis. Had they maintained a decent standard of hygiene and treated him well on time, he would have lived his life the way he had dreamt of before being admitted to this hospital and getting my elder sister married which he was so looking forward to.
Interestingly, Dr Bal admitted that he was “not denying that this is because of negligence and that the bacteria were hospital borne” and that he was only “sorry for whatever happened” but “it was not in his hands“, the case was an ICU case. That was the attitude we got from a doctor who states “22 years of experience in AIIMS”.
Well, I know how valuable life is. My daddy wanted to live, live for many more years and he certainly did not deserve such a painful death. He was a fighter. He was a true army man.
I cannot get him back but this review can certainly help alarm someone of the practices this hospital performs and the kind of senior doctors it has.
IT’S THE WORST HOSPITAL TO GO TO!