A son brought his mother to RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday because he could not afford her treatment at a private hospital any longer.

For her week-long stay at the private hospital in north Calcutta in August, the son had to spend ₹1.5 lakh, a humongous sum for someone who makes ₹20,000 a month.

At 12.45pm on Wednesday, RG Kar admitted Sandhya Roy, 63, but with a rider: her family could not expect the medical care she needed to recover.

The son did not dare to keep her there any longer.

At 3pm, he had her admitted to a small nursing home in Phoolbagan. Tapas Roy, the son, said he hoped this one would not be as expensive.

“I checked with my friend to find out whether there was a place that would cost less. Finally, we opted for the nursing home in Phoolbagan. I wish I could get her admitted to RG Kar,” said Tapas, who has borrowed money for his mother’s treatment.

At the Phoolbagan nursing home, he had to pay ₹5,000 to get his mother admitted. The bed charge and the fees for doctors and attendants would total ₹3,100 every day.

“The cost will escalate if she has surgery. Which is why we were keen to have her admitted to RG Kar,” said Tapas, a resident of Shyampukur in north Calcutta.

Sandhya was suffering from an excruciating pain in the abdomen. On August 26, Tapas got her admitted to the private hospital in north Calcutta because he thought getting a bed in a government hospital would be impossible because of the strike by the junior doctors.

By the time it was diagnosed that the pain was caused by a stone in the gall bladder, the hospital handed him a hefty bill. He took her home. The pain returned a few days later.

He took a chance on Wednesday because he hoped the doctors would return to work after the push from the Supreme Court.

On Monday, the Supreme Court had said the doctor must return to work by 5pm the next day. The doctors defied the apex court and have been squatting outside the state health department headquarters in Salt Lake since with fresh demands.

Over 8,000 junior doctors at government hospitals have been on a cease-work since a postgraduate trainee was found raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9.

On Wednesday afternoon, Tapas and his friends were running around for an ambulance that could take Sandhya to the nursing home in Phoolbagan.

“My mother was in extreme pain while she was being shifted within minutes of her admission. But I did not have a choice. When the lone attending doctor tells you that they can’t give her post-operative care if she undergoes surgery, you can’t leave her there to die,” said Roy.

Calls to Saptarshi Chatterjee, medical superintendent and vice-principal of RG Kar, from this newspaper went unanswered.

Tapas expressed shock at the claim by the junior doctors that their cease-work is not hurting patients.

“I experienced extreme pain. I was forced to get my mother discharged. This was not what I had expected. Families like us depend on government hospitals because the treatment is free,” said Roy.

Junior doctors are crucial in any government hospital for providing post-operative care, said senior doctors who spoke on condition of anonymity.

This newspaper has published a series of reports over the past month highlighting the plight of patients being denied treatment in government hospitals.

Wednesday showed the condition is worsening by the day as the cease-work goes on.