Woman claims COVID-19 positive husband missing, hospital says cremated

A woman from Hyderabad, who had been discharged on May 16 from the Gandhi Hospital along with her children after being treated for COVID-19, alleged that her husband, who had been admitted along with them after testing positive for COVID-19, had gone missing.

However, the hospital responded saying her husband had died on May 1, and that he had been cremated by the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) after following the due procedure, including informing family members.

The woman, identified as Alampalli Madhavi from Vanasthalipuram colony, had posted on Twitter that her husband A Madhusudhan (42) had not come home with them when they were discharged from the hospital after treatment.

@KTRTRS
Missing case of my husband at Gandhi hospital….
Hello K. Taraka Rama Rao sir,
Myself madhavi w/o Madhusudhan(age:42) living with two daughters in vanasthalipuram.
As our family members being suffering from corona had admitted in Gandhi hospital & we all had

— Alampally Madhavi (@AlampallyMadha3) May 20, 2020

She added that she had questioned the medical staff on her husband’s condition when she was discharged, and they had said he was on ventilator support.

She alleged that no one had informed her about her husband’s death, or received her permission before cremation, or even notified her family about this regarding identification of the body.

She further said the hospital refused to respond to her after a point, and sought proof of his cremation, including his belongings.

“On May 16, when we were discharged, we questioned the hospital authorities about my husband, but they did not reply properly. They first said he was still on ventilator but later said he was not alive. We request you to help in probing my husband’s missing case,” she said on Twitter, where she had tagged Telangana Information Technology minister KT Rama Rao.

Madhavi said her husband had first been admitted to the King Kothi Hospital on April 27, and was later shifted to the Gandhi hospital on April 30.

However, Dr M Raja Rao, Gandhi hospital superintendent issued a statement saying, “The woman’s husband, who was also suffering from bilateral pneumonia with acute respiratory distress syndrome, had succumbed to COVID-19 on May 1 evening, a day after he was admitted to the hospital.

“As per the procedure, the family members were informed and following the protocol, the dead body was handed over to police and their acknowledgement was taken. On enquiry, it was known that the body was cremated by the GHMC. All due procedures were followed.”

“If the family is not coming forward for any reason, the cremation is done by the GHMC. The same had happened with this case too,” Dr Raja Rao claimed.

Rao added that while they sympathised with Madhavi’s family, it was wrong to defame the hospital and doctors and other staff who were treating hundreds of COVID-19 patients risking their lives.

On the other hand, Madhavi told reporters that she strongly believed her husband was still alive. She reiterated that the hospital had not informed her about her husband’s cremation, and sought proof for the same.

“Let them show evidence to whom they had informed and from whom they had obtained consent or no objection letter,” she was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.