Fwd: JJ hosp told to submit report on 84-yr-old with dementia

[Vaishnavi Jayakumar]

8/13/2021 JJ hosp told to submit report on 84-yr-old with dementia - The Times Of India - Mumbai, 8/13/2021 https://epaper.timesgroup.com/Olive/ODN/TimesOfIndia/PrintArticle.aspx?doc=TOIM%2F2021%2F08%2F13&entity=ar00900&ts=202108122335… 1/1 JJ hosp told to submit report on 84-yr-old with dementia Rosy.S...@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Thursday directed JJ Hospital to visit an 84-year-old woman who is suffering from progressive dementia in a care facility in Navi Mumbai and submit a report. A bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Madhav Jamdar passed the order on a petition by the woman’s two daughters to appoint them legal guardians and managers of her person and property and to operate her bank accounts. Their petition said their mother lived in a flat in Heliopolis and has a garage in Patropolis in Colaba. In 2017 she found it increasingly difficult to attend to her day-to-day affairs and her condition steadily deteriorated. “Increasingly started to become unaware of her surroundings...losing her memory-...having difficulty in recognising family, friends or staff members, refused to eat or take medication…on several occasions had to be stopped from attempting to jump from her 5 th floor flat.” The sisters and their brother, who resides abroad, were advised to put her in a care facility for her safety, treatment and care. She was admitted to the facility in February 2019. Their petition said their mother was a successful, independent business woman who primarily banked with Vijaya Bank, Colaba branch, for decades. The manager agreed to release payments for medical, society and other expenses, but they were irregular. With Vijaya Bank’s merger with Bank of Baroda in April 2019, the branch was transferred to the Cuffe Parade branch. The present manager, after verifying her condition, agreed to release payments for medical and personal caregiver expenses and declined for other expenses The petition said their mother has a substantial savings and term deposit accounts, and her average monthly expense is Rs1.14 lakh per month. She has outstanding dues and liabilities and is incurring “unnecessary interest and penalties.” “She requires constant care and attention in the performance of even the simplest bodily functions,” the petition added. Senior advocate Iqbal Chagla, for the sisters, said that recently, their mother was hospitalised, and the bank didn’t release payment of the bills. The high court judges, in their order, said that before proceeding further, it would be appropriate to have a report from JJ Hospital “on her present status.”

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