85-year-old vacates hospital bed for 40-year-old patient, dies at home

The 85-year-old went against the medical advice of his doctors and voluntarily walked out of the hospital for a young patient, as per his family. "I have lived my life. Saving the life of a young man is more important," he reportedly told doctors.

File photo of Narayan Dabhalkar.

India Today,  Mumbai, April 28, 2021:  An 85-year-old man who voluntarily walked out of a Nagpur hospital for a young patient died at his home on Tuesday. Narayan Dabhalkar, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) member, was admitted to Indira Gandhi government hospital in Nagpur after he tested positive for Covid-19.

Despite dipping oxygen levels, Narayan Dabhalkar went against the medical advice of his doctors and opted for a discharge after he saw a woman pleading to get her 40-year-old husband admitted to the hospital.

The 85-year-old reportedly told the doctors, “I am 85. I have lived my life. Saving the life of a young man is more important. Their children are young...please give my bed to them.”

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The doctors told the octogenarian that his condition was not stable and treatment at the hospital was necessary.

The 85-year-old, however, called his daughter and apprised her of the situation. He died three days after he was brought home.

A post on social media on Monday said that Narayan Dabhalkar had sacrificed a bed for a young patient.

"We rushed him to IGR when his oxygen levels dipped on April 22. We got a bed after great effort but he was back home in a couple of hours. My father said he would prefer to spend his last moments with us. He also told us about a young patient,” Dabhalkar's daughter was quoted as saying by Times of India.

The report, however, quoted an official saying that even if a patient voluntarily leaves, a bed is not assigned to a specific person on request. “Whom to give the bed is the prerogative of the doctor. Although Dabhalkar leaving would have certainly eased the pressure by creating space for someone else,” the official said.

As per the TOI report, Dabhalkar was yet to be taken inside the Covid-19 ward and was still in the casualty section when he decided to give up his bed. Even leaving the casualty ward would have eased the pressure, the official was quoted as saying by TOI.

(-By Yogesh Pandey)

Shishir Arya / TNN / Apr 29, 2021/ NAGPUR: An 85-year-old Nagpur resident with dipping oxygen levels died at home after getting himself discharged from hospital against medical advice because he apparently didn't want to block a bed after seeing the wife of a 40-year-old Covid-19 patient pleading for admission. 

Narayan Dabhalkar had been taken to the Nagpur Municipal Corporation-run Indira Gandhi Rughnalaya on April 22 and was temporarily kept in the casualty ward when he noticed the woman beseeching doctors to give her husband a bed, his family said. 

 “We had got a bed after great effort, but he was back home in a couple of hours,” Dabhalkar’s daughter Aasawari Kothiwan said. 

“He said, ‘I have already lived my life and would rather leave it to fate instead of blocking a bed at the cost of a younger patient’.” Narayan Dabhalkar told his family he didn’t want to block a bed.