A couple has alleged that their two-day old baby daughter died on Sunday after Ruby Hall Clinic in Pune allegedly refused treatment over the issue of payment in demonetised currencies.
However, Ruby Hall Clinic, the hospital where the child was referred to be admitted for a heart surgery, refuted the claims and said that it always adheres to a humane policy in case of emergencies.
According to Gaurav Khunte, his wife Amrapali had given birth to a girl and was undergoing treatment at Pune’s KEM Hospital. “Our newborn developed breathing problems and doctors from Ruby Hall, visiting KEM, advised us to shift the child to Ruby Hall, The Hindu reported.
The couple alleged that the authorities of Ruby Hall Clinic asked them to pay the estimated sum of ₹ 3.5 lakh in low denomination notes.
“We told them that we had ₹1 lakh in ₹1,000 notes and we would pay the remaining amount by cheque. But they remained adamant and rejected the old notes and the cheque alternative, while stating that only payment by demand draft would do.
The child might have been saved had the Ruby Hall authorities shifted the infant there,” a relative of Khunte told media.
The relatives of the child alleged that doctors turned down their offer and wasted the golden hours over the payment issue.
Rubbishing the charges, the hospital said, “There is no question of demonetised notes as I have got the information that the billing department told them to bring the infant to the hospital and pay whatever you have, but we have no idea after that conversation, who did they approach and who misguided them,” Dr Sanjay Pathare, Medical Services Director, of Ruby Hall Clinic told media.
