Director of Amethi hospital dismisses allegation that patient with Ayushman card turned away

The director of a hospital in Amethi, at the centre of a raging controversy, Sunday dismissed the allegation that a man, who died at the facility last month, had been denied treatment on the ground that Ayushman Bharat card was not accepted. The matter came to light ahead of the Lok Sabha election in Amethi, where Congress president Rahul Gandhi is pitted against Union minister and BJP candidate Smriti Irani.

Modi, at a poll rally in Gwalior, alleged a patient died after an Amethi hospital with trustees from the Gandhi family denied him treatment, saying it was not "Modi's hospital" where Ayushman Card would be accepted. Earlier in the day, Irani tweeted a video in which a man is heard saying that his uncle died as he was denied treatment by the Sanjay Gandhi Hospital after being told that "Modi's Ayushman Bharat card" was not accepted there.

SM Chaudhary, the director of the hospital, said, "The claims in the tweet are baseless and politically-motivated. The deceased patient has been identified as Nanhe Lal (59), a resident of Sarraiyya village located in Musafirkhana area of the district. He was admitted on April 25 at 11.00 pm." "He was admitted in a very serious condition, and used to consume a lot of alcohol, as a result of which he suffered from liver failure. Nanhe Lal died on April 26," Chaudhary said.

"There is no hospital in Amethi where the cure of liver ailments is possible. Apart from this, Nanhe Lal did not have any Ayushman Bharat card. We do not distinguish between patients based on Congress and BJP, and treat a patient as a patient only," the director said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)