Female ACTO dies of COVID, Yashoda hospital charges Rs 29 lakh for treatment

Hyderabad: Yashoda hospital is under fire for charging Rs 29 lakh from the family of Assistant Commercial Tax Officer (ACTO) who succumbed to COVID 19 after delivering a baby.

Shwetha Reddy was admitted to the hospital for delivery. However, she was tested positive for COVID 19. During the treatment, her family paid Rs 29 lakh to the hospital but never were allowed to see or talk to her.

Her husband Madhava Reddy said they were only informed that she was responding to the treatment and there is nothing to worry about.

However, when Reddy persisted to visit his wife in the ICU, he was allowed to see her. He raised alarm when he found Shwetha motionless. He demanded copies of all reports and diagnoses so that he could seek the second opinion from another hospital.

Finding itself in a dock, the hospital declared her dead in a hush-hush manner.

A video of Madhava Reddy detailing how the hospital had treated his wife and fleeced him has now gone viral. In the video, he is heard saying how he paid Rs 27 lakh to the hospital.

“I have a newborn child sir. I am not in a position to manage this situation. Kindly intervene and save my wife,” he appealed to the Chief Minister KCR and Minister KT Rama Rao.

He also complained to the DMHO, Hyderabad district, seeking action against the hospital and its staff.

Hailing from Gandeed in Mahabubnagar district, Shwetha Reddy was posted as Assistant Commercial Tax officer in Hyderabad city.

On July 27, when she complained of a fever, she was rushed to a private hospital. When the fever did not subside, she went to another hospital on July 29, but to no avail.

Later she was taken to a private hospital in Mahabubnagar for delivery. She was tested for COVID but the reports came back as negative.

However, the private hospital refused to admit her. She was shifted to Yashoda hospital on August 4. Madhava Reddy claimed that Yashoda hospital asked him to pay Rs 2 lakh as an advance for a c-section. Later she delivered a male baby.

Two days post-delivery, when she complained of breathing issues, her swab samples were collected for COVID 19. Her test reports came back positive.

With the family’s consent, the hospital authorities shifted her to ICU and started COVID treatment on August 12. She was treated in the ICU for 20 days and family was made to pay hefty amount.

On Wednesday, Madhava Reddy demanded he should be allowed to see his wife. But to his shock, his wife was lying motionless in the ICU.

In the wee hours of Thursday, the hospital declared Shwetha Reddy dead, but they did not reveal any reasons or what happened, he alleged.

“The hospital is now bargaining for a deal. They have offered me Rs 4 lakh as compensation,” Madhava Reddy alleged.