Dubai hospital waives off Rs 1.5 crore for Telangana COVID-19 patient

The 42-year-old battled Covid-19 for 80 days unaware that he contracted the virus

telengana-covid-patient-odnala-rajesh-dubai Odnala Rajesh with local volunteers after being discharged | Sourced

The oddity in the voice of Odnala Rajesh is glaring. His struggle to speak continuously and the bursts of heavy breathing are a give-away that his lung power is weak. It is not easy to comprehend what he is saying, but the moment he hears about the hospital that treated him, it is easy to guess that his feeble voice is overwhelmed with gratitude. “We will never be able to repay their help,” says Madhukar, his teenage son. The family is relieved that they are reunited with Rajesh, who returned to his village, Venugumatla in Jagtial district of Telangana after remaining in hospital for more than 80 days.

Rajesh, who used to work at a car servicing centre, left for Dubai two years ago, following the path of lakhs of migrant workers from Telangana who reach the gulf shores. On April 23, Rajesh felt unwell and visited a local health clinic in Dubai. He was told that his diabetic condition has worsened as sugar levels were showing a reading of more than 500. He returned home to rest after undergoing some tests. According to Rajesh, surprising events unfolded in the next few days. Health officials reached his home and shifted him to a hospital. At this point, neither Rajesh nor his family knew what happened.

Treatment began for Rajesh at Dubai Hospital, a private medical centre.

“We were worried for him. When we asked his colleagues in Dubai, they told us that he is hospitalised and is undergoing treatment. They also did not have much information about his health condition. We were very worried as we did not have any clue about him for more than two months,” said Madhukar.

Rajesh who had contracted Covid-19 was treated in ICU as his condition turned serious. Even as he was on oxygen support, the hospital staff did not inform him about the nature of infection.

“Till the time I landed in India, I had no clue I had coronavirus,” said Rajesh.

After spending 80 days in the hospital, Rajesh recovered completely. However, the hospital bill was a shocker. The entire bill came to AED 7,62,555 (United Arab Emirates Dirhams) or Rs 1.52 crore.

G. Narasimha, president of the Gulf Workers Protection Society along with Sumanth Reddy, a local volunteer working closely with the Indian consulate in Dubai, got to know about the case. Knowing well that Rajesh comes from a poor family and will be in no position to clear the bill, they approached the consulate for help.

The Indian Consulate wrote a letter to the hospital requesting them to waive off the bill on humanitarian grounds. The hospital responded positively and discharged the patient without charging any amount.

The letter from the Indian Consulate The letter from the Indian Consulate

A local Indian businessman, Ashok Kotecha, helped Rajesh in repatriating to India by taking care of his flight tickets. Rajesh, who reached Hyderabad on Tuesday night, was allowed a 14-day home quarantine instead of institutional quarantine as he had a COVID-19 negative certificate.

“He will not go back. We want him to take up some job in the village. Right now, we want him to just get better and get stronger as he lost a lot of weight,” said Madhukar.