Tamil Nadu: Tiruchy private hospital allegedly demands Rs 11 lakh to release 7-year-old boy's body

Tiruchy: Over failing to pay hospital bills, a private hospital based in Tiruchy allegedly withheld the body of a seven-year-old from his family who was undergoing treatment for a kidney ailment there and had eventually passed away.  

The parents of the child, who are from the Tiruvarur district could not pay an amount of Rs 11 lakh, following which the hospital refused to hand over the body. 

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The seven-year-old, Yuvanesh, a resident of Naranamangalam near Kudavasal in Tiruvarur district was initially admitted to Tiruvarur Medical College Hospital on September 10 for the treatment of chronic kidney disease. After the boy's condition began worsening, he was referred to Thanjavur Medical College Hospital. 

On September 11, Yuvesh's father took his son to a private hospital in Tiruchy by pooling money from friends, pledging their house and selling their land. The child's father works as an agricultural labourer. They managed to pool together an amount of Rs 9 lakh for his son's treatment, who was undergoing treatment for 53 days. When the hospital demanded Rs 2 lakh last week, the family told them they would take the child to a government hospital, reports the DTNext. 

However, the hospital allegedly refused to discharge Yuvanesh, according to his parents. The child passed away on Thursday, following which the parents went to receive the body. But the hospital charged them a bill of Rs 11 lakh for releasing the body without which it refused to hand over the body. 

Yuvanesh's mother said, "We repeatedly prayed to the hospital administration to give back the boy, but they were firm in collecting Rs 11 lakh from us. With no other option, we tried to meet Tiruvarur Collector to seek help. Since the Collector was not present at the office, we submitted a petition to Collector's PA Punniyakotti."

Following the incident, the parents went to the Collector for help. The hospital authorities, however, said that they are ready for negotiating the amount. Stating that the parents of the boy had not approached them for any negotiation, a senior official of the hospital said, "Soon after looking at the bill, they were agitated and rushed to the Collectorate without informing us. When contacted, the parents told us that they were in Tiruvarur Collectorate. The hospital is still waiting for them to have a negotiation." 

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