On Friday, the hospital issued a fresh certificate accepting the
severity of the 24-year old’s condition, putting her mental and physical
affliction at 90 per cent, revising it from the 64 per cent it had
stated in December.
After three months of knocking on
various doors and Mirror publishing the story of his struggle, Raghunath
Tikhe (52), has reason to rejoice. The State-run Sassoon General
Hospital has relented and restored a near-complete disability
certificate to his daughter, with which she and her immediate family can
access various Government-sponsored schemes and concessions.
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| Rani Tikhe will now be able to avail with her certificate |
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On Friday, Sassoon issued a fresh medical certificate to Rani Tikhe, grudging her a 90 per cent level of disability. In a clear admission of the mistake committed last December, in issuing her a mere 64 per cent disability certificate, the hospital has reinstated her basis for seeking various concessions and facilities.
These include, accessing loans and employment for her or alternately the person she is dependent on, free bus and rail passes and attendant facilities while travelling, among other things.
As reported by Mirror on March 13, Tikhe held a 100 per cent disability certificate from Sassoon since June 2003, for his daughter who suffers from cerebral palsy and diplegia, rendering her incapable of much movement or speech. The document was regularly updated in the ensuing years.
However, last December, he sought a fresh certificate to access a Pune
Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) bus pass. To his shock, the
new document downgraded Rani’s disability level to 64 per cent, cutting
her off from many facilities she was earlier eligible for.
This set Tikhe, a resident of Nimhan Aali, on a three-month chase to seek rectification of the error. In March, Rani was refused free travel on a PMPML bus for holding an ineligible certificate.
“It was her right to get the certificate. The disability certificate should have been issued after considering both her mental and physical condition. The mistake was an outcome of the lack of coordination in our department,” admitted an embarrassed D G Kulkarni, medical superintendent at Sassoon. The new certificate clarified what Rani can and cannot do.
“A five to 10 per cent difference is in itself considerable. A 40 per cent difference is unacceptable,” he added, while insisting the case was complicated and all efforts have been made to explain to Rani’s relatives how the goof-up happened. The online process introduced, could help iron out such glitches, he said.
Though 90 per cent still falls short of the 100 per cent disability status Rani held originally, Tikhe is relieved. “I am happy they recognised the reality of my daughter’s condition. I got a further shock immediately after Rani’s story appeared in Mirror, when the hospital issued me another certificate of just 45 per cent disability.
When I pointed out the details published in the story about the condition she was suffering, I was taken to Kulkarni, who agreed to issue yet another certificate. I think they did not revert back to 100 per cent out of embarrassment, though I still intend to pursue for that level,” a beaming Tikhe said.
“This is a clear example of the lacunae in the system. It is not often that people in authority rectify their mistakes. It is good that a genuine case has got some justice,” noted Rahul Deshmukh, president, National Association for the Welfare of Physically Challenged (NAWPC).
This set Tikhe, a resident of Nimhan Aali, on a three-month chase to seek rectification of the error. In March, Rani was refused free travel on a PMPML bus for holding an ineligible certificate.
“It was her right to get the certificate. The disability certificate should have been issued after considering both her mental and physical condition. The mistake was an outcome of the lack of coordination in our department,” admitted an embarrassed D G Kulkarni, medical superintendent at Sassoon. The new certificate clarified what Rani can and cannot do.
“A five to 10 per cent difference is in itself considerable. A 40 per cent difference is unacceptable,” he added, while insisting the case was complicated and all efforts have been made to explain to Rani’s relatives how the goof-up happened. The online process introduced, could help iron out such glitches, he said.
Though 90 per cent still falls short of the 100 per cent disability status Rani held originally, Tikhe is relieved. “I am happy they recognised the reality of my daughter’s condition. I got a further shock immediately after Rani’s story appeared in Mirror, when the hospital issued me another certificate of just 45 per cent disability.
When I pointed out the details published in the story about the condition she was suffering, I was taken to Kulkarni, who agreed to issue yet another certificate. I think they did not revert back to 100 per cent out of embarrassment, though I still intend to pursue for that level,” a beaming Tikhe said.
“This is a clear example of the lacunae in the system. It is not often that people in authority rectify their mistakes. It is good that a genuine case has got some justice,” noted Rahul Deshmukh, president, National Association for the Welfare of Physically Challenged (NAWPC).
►► It was her right to get the certificate. The mistake was an outcome of the lack of co-ordination in our department- D G Kulkarni, Medical Supdt, Sassoon Hospital
Source : Pune Mirror , 6th April 2014
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