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From taking her to different hospitals and pleading for help on social media, the family of 14-year-old Faiza Ansari did everything they could to save her.
A resident of Delhi’s Timarpur, Faiza, was suffering from leukaemia—a cancer of blood-forming tissues, hindering the body’s ability to fight infection—and passed away on December 5.
Her family has alleged Faiza, a student of Class 9 at Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, was refused treatment by three top hospitals of the city – Delhi government’s Delhi State Cancer Institute (DSCI), Safdarjung Hospital, and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
“My sister deserved to live. She wanted to study and had many dreams,” said 19-year-old Zubi, Faiza’s elder sister.
Zubi said they were told by the hospitals that they don’t have beds or medicines. “At DSCI, we were told that they do not have the treatment for blood cancer and they referred us to AIIMS. When we reached AIIMS Emergency we were told to go somewhere else. ‘Go get another hospital made for yourself, ask Kejriwal and Modi’… this is what the staff told us there,” she said.
From one hospital to another
After Faiza’s health issues started four months ago, she was admitted to the National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases after local doctors suggested she should visit the facility.
“We were told that she had tuberculosis but after a month-long treatment, the doctors at the TB institute told us that she was fine and had issues in her heart instead. Following this, we took Faiza to Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital,” said Zubi.
“The doctors informed us she was suffering from heart disease and surgery was performed. However, her condition did not improve and the doctors later diagnosed that she was suffering from blood cancer. They then referred us to Delhi State Cancer Institute,” she added.
The family took Faiza to AIIMS but they were told there were no vacant beds. After this, they went to Safdarjung Hospital where she was not admitted either. They went back to DSCI where the family was again asked to go to AIIMS Delhi where they said Faiza was refused treatment.
After losing all hope, the family made a video asking for help which became viral on various social media platforms including X. In the viral video, Faiza can be seen crying in pain and struggling to breathe while her mother narrates her journey with different hospitals.
“It’s been four months that my daughter is crying in pain and is in a miserable condition but I have not been able to do much,” says Faiza’s mother Razia Ansari in the video.
After the video went viral, AIIMS admitted her in the morning on December 5 but she passed away later in the day.
‘We spent everything’
Zubi said she would find Faiza howling in pain every day she came back home.
“Had she received proper treatment she would have lived. Whatever money we had we spent all our money on various tests. Everyone says that the treatment is free for poor people but in reality, it is not like that. The tests were as expensive as Rs 4,000-5,000 and we got several tests done,” said Zubi.
Zubi, a BA second-year student, could not take her examinations as she could not pay the exam fees. She has taken up a job at a gaming centre in GTB Nagar to help her mother in running the house. “My father works as a labourer and paints houses but often he doesn’t have much work in hand,” she said.
Blame game
Following the death of the 14-year-old, Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said he has written a letter to Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar. In his letter, Bhardwaj has accused Kumar and the health secretary of ignoring his repeated directions for ensuring adequate staff and medicines at DSCI.
“I had informed you about the plight of DSCI brought to my notice by advocate Rajendra Pal Gautam, MLA, Semapuri through written communication. This matter was also raised by him before the Legislative Assembly under Rule 280 of the Rules of Procedure of the Delhi Assembly. I had requested you to personally examine the issues and suggest a plan for taking corrective/curative measures for better management of the institute in particular since it is a society hospital being managed, administered and controlled by the governing council which is headed by you,” he said.
Bhardwaj added that in a note sent to the chief secretary in October, he requested to initiate the plan of action concerning corrective/curative measures so that immediate remedial measures can be taken by the government and the plight of the patients seeking treatment in these hospitals are addressed.
However, to date, he has not received any reply and there is no visible change in the state of affairs in DSCI, said Bhardwaj.
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