New Delhi: Asha Bamba, 69, is a cancer patient and needs spinal surgery. She travelled with daughter Poonam all the way from Karnal in Haryana to Noida's Fortis Hospital for the surgery. But despite reaching the hospital at 10 am, Asha's surgery did not begin even at 3:30 pm. The reason? All the cash they had was of the wrong kind.
"We had Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes with us. The hospital refused to take them. They made it clear — they needed the money first and then only would they perform the surgery. It took us and our relatives back home in Karnal hours to arrange for an online transaction of more than Rs 1 lakh to the hospital. My mother is still awaiting surgery. The government should have made it compulsory for private hospitals to accept the scrapped notes," says Poonam.
Poonam and Asha are not the only ones stranded with a medical emergency without means to pay for treatment. The government has made it compulsory for state-run hospitals to accept existing Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. Private hospitals are not bound by the order, causing significant hardship to patients and their relatives.
Just outside Fortis, more than half a dozen people shared similar stories.
DC Garg is one of them. "My brother suffered a heart attack and had to be rushed to hospital. The hospital has refused to take cash from us. Further treatment too has been stopped since we are not able to get the entire amount in cash. You tell me, how on earth will we withdraw all that money in the new currency? And from where? The banks too are giving such a limited amount."
Another patient's family member says, "We have been running from pillar to post, trying to put together the amount required to be paid to the hospital. But with the long queues outside banks and the withdrawal limits in place as well, there is hardly any option for us."
Many don’t even have debit or credit cards.
Ali, a Kashmiri patient who has come for treatment here, says, "I don't have a debit card so I cannot pay them through that either. Please tell me what I should do."
Fortis on its part has issued a statement saying it has requested the government to allow them to accept old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. It also said it will not turn back any patient.
Regardless of the government's intent behind the move, those in medical emergencies have unwittingly become collateral victims of the war on black money.
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