Why medical negligence battles in India are seldom won by patients, no matter how strong the evidence.
There’s a hospital in Mumbai named Jupiter, and it has more complaints than its namesake planet has moons. Its motto is “patient first”, but some patients admitted into its 400,000 sq. ft super-specialty expanse didn’t feel like they came first. Some never even lived to complain, so their loved ones speak on their behalf, manifesting the first four of grief’s seven stages on the internet. A woman who lost her father likens the hospital to Yamlok, the abode of the Hindu god of death. “If you love somebody, don’t admit them here,” warns a man who lost his newborn. Others …
Roshni is a features writer and former editor of The Morning Context's Chaos team. Her career spans The Ken, Reuters, the Hindustan Times and DNA. She is a recipient of the UNFPA Laadli award and was shortlisted for the RedInk Awards 2016 for her story on Mumbai’s leprosy colonies. Her far-flung ideas would sometimes drive our editor-in-chief Ashish up the wall, but he wouldn’t have had it any other way (even if he didn’t admit it).
roshni@mailtmc.com