9 hospitals refused to treat AIDS patient

Two years after being diagnosed with a 30-mm stone in his left kidney, 45-year-old Aurangabad resident, had to run from pillar to post between more than nine hospitals in his district for the surgery. He was refused treatment for being an Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) patient. However, the family of the man, received relief by doctors from St George Hospital, after it admitted him on Monday. The HIV-positive patient will now finally undergo the surgery for his large kidney stone in a couple of days.

The family of the middle-aged man confirmed that they had visited a number of hospitals in Aurangabad after he started experiencing pain in lower abdomen around two years ago. After being diagnosed with a kidney stone, surgery was deemed the only option for the man to get rid of the same. However, even though medical practitioners consider kidney-stone removal surgeries as minor procedures, his HIV-positive report card proved a major hurdle, which prevented him from being treated.

“For two years, my brother was reeling in pain. We visited five government-run hospitals including Civil Hospital of Aurangabad and four famous private hospitals. More than five times, doctors scheduled the surgery after checking his reports but eventually, when they came across the blood reports that stated that he is HIV positive, they refused to proceed. They reasoned that the surgery could probably put the lives of their doctors in jeopardy due to the presence of HIV,” said Vinay Chougule (name changed on request), the patient’s brother.

Earlier in June, the family came across a news article in a regional newspaper about Dr Rahul Ghule, a general surgeon from St George Hospital, who has been treating patients at the cost of '1 apart from pursuing his medical practice at the hospital.

Immediately after reading this philanthropic activity, they contacted the surgeon, who asked them to come to St George Hospital for treatment.

“After checking the patient and his sonography results, we realised that he had to undergo surgery immediately. The stone was quite big and it was affecting his urinary functions. We admitted him on Monday and will operate on him in a day or two,” said Dr Ghule.

As the family of the patients is delighted at the ray of hope in the form of St George Hospital, Dr Ghule deplored the social stigma attached to AIDS, even amidst the medical practitioners. “Only if we act indifferently to HIV-positive patients, the world would follow suite. It was saddening that the patient couldn’t avail if treatment, just because of his condition,” said Dr Ghule.