Hospital Sends Recovery Message to Patient After His Death

A bizarre incident has come to light in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, where a government hospital sent an Ayushman Bharat message to a patient’s phone expressing happiness that he had recovered and returned home — 42 days after he had died. According to his family, 39-year-old constable Devnarayan Ram, a resident of Raipur, was admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Ambikapur on June 26 due to illness. He died during treatment on June 30. His wife Seema, who works as a nurse at the same hospital, said the family completed his last rites and obtained his death certificate.

On August 6, more than a month after his death, the family received a message under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana stating that Devnarayan was happy with the hospital’s free healthcare services after recovering. Hospital officials attributed the error to a data-entry operator and said the employee responsible had been removed from duty. However, the family has raised questions, alleging possible misuse of the deceased’s Ayushman card and demanding a thorough investigation. The hospital management denied the allegation, saying the message was delayed because of a delay in closing the Ayushman claim on the portal. An inquiry into the incident is underway.