Body stuck at Sharjah hospital due to non-clearance of bills

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Body stuck at Sharjah hospital due to non-clearance of bills
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Dubai - Dominic passed away on January 18 at the hospital

By VM Sathish

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Published: Thu 26 Jan 2017, 5:24 PM

Last updated: Thu 26 Jan 2017, 6:28 PM

Marilyn Stanislaus, an Indian mother of three daughters, is running from pillar to post to get her husband's body released from a hospital in Sharjah. The husband, Dominic, passed away on January 18 at the hospital. While the rest of the Indian community is in a festive mood for the Indian Republic Day, this woman and her three daughters, two of them studying at school, have only one need - to get Dominic's body released so they can cremate him at St Michael's church, Sharjah.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Marilyn said she has been passing through the worst period in her two decades of life in the UAE. Her husband went into depression and fell ill after he lost his well-paying job as an oil field supervisor at a Dubai company.
"For the past one week I have been trying to get his body released from the hospital." Marilyn, has to pay a minimum of Dh30,000 to achieve this. Though the total bill came to Dh100,000, it was brought down to Dh50,000 since Dominic's health card was still valid.
Dominic fell ill on December 26 and was rushed to the hospital where he underwent treatment for jaundice, liver failure and pneumonia. He was admitted at the intensive care unit for a week for which the charges were Dh3,500 per day.
The body is in the hospital morgue, while the desperate family is knocking on the doors of family, friends, relatives and charities for help.
"It was very kind of Kuwait Hospital to admit him and give him treatment without a valid Emirates ID. After he lost his job in February 2015, Dominic could not renew his visa. Though he appeared for many interviews, he could not get a job. He used to earn Dh14,000 per month," said Marilyn. The family was on his sponsorship and ever since he lost his job, the children's visas have also not been renewed. Marilyn, however, is now under a media city visa.
"As we exhausted all our savings due to the job loss and children's education, I do not have the money to pay the bills. He has two personal loans as well but I hope submitting his death certificate to the banks will solve that problem. I don't have resources to take his body to Bombay, India, and we are planning a local cremation," said Marilyn
She has approached several charity organisations and community associations for help. "I need to organise my life now," said Marilyn. "Two of my daughters study in grade 6 and their fee has not been paid for the past one year. Their visas also need to be renewed. But my immediate concern is to get his body released andto complete all procedures.
What the hospital says
Sources in Kuwait Hospital have confirmed the death of Dominic, but details of pending payment have not been revealed. Sources handling charity cases at the hospital said in case a patient dies and the family does not have money to pay the bill, a request letter for financial support is to be submitted to one of the three charity bodies present at the hospital.
sathish@khaleejtimes.com
 


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