By Mansi Jagani
New Delhi- When the phone rings these days, Ben no longer knows whether it will be a patient confirming travel plans to Delhi or one postponing the journey indefinitely.
For more than a decade, the Congolese national has built a life around helping French-speaking African patients navigate Delhi’s hospitals, translating medical records, accompanying them during consultations and arranging everything from accommodation to transportation.
But two days after a fire tore through a bed-and-breakfast (B&B) facility in Malviya Nagar’s Hauz Rani area, killing 21 people, including several foreign nationals, many of those plans have come to a standstill.
“We were expecting patients, but they have put their tickets on hold till further notice,” Ben told PTI.
“People are scared to come. We had already given them estimates about hotel costs and treatment expenses. Now we don’t know where we will accommodate them,” he added.
The tragedy has exposed the ripple effects of the fire beyond its immediate victims, unsettling a community of translators, interpreters and patient facilitators who serve as the first point of contact for hundreds of foreign nationals arriving in Delhi every year for medical treatment.
Ben first came to India in 2009 to study animation and graphic design at a private college in Chennai. After spending nearly two years there, he moved to Delhi after realising he could find work in the national capital.
Today, besides teaching French, he assists patients arriving from French-speaking African countries, charging around Rs 2,000 an hour for services that include translating prescriptions and discharge summaries, accompanying patients during consultations and helping them navigate cultural and language barriers.
“We are all helping people coming from our countries. Most of us are from French-speaking countries, like Congo. We don’t charge every patient. Those who can afford to pay do so, but many who come here for long-term treatment already face high expenses. They contribute whatever they can afford,” he explained.
Such facilitators often remain unseen by the public but play a crucial role in helping patients navigate unfamiliar healthcare systems. They coordinate hospital visits, arrange accommodation, communicate with doctors and act as interpreters during treatment.
Ben said that the fire has not only frightened prospective patients but has also complicated arrangements for those already in Delhi.
“For people who are supposed to come for surgery or treatment, the first question now is where they will stay,” he said, adding that the situation is disturbing.
The problem, facilitators say, is not merely the availability of rooms but affordability.
Many patients arrive with carefully planned budgets that account for treatment costs, medicines and weeks or even months of accommodation near hospitals.
“Suppose you have informed a patient, and they have planned their budget accordingly. Then suddenly you tell them that the place where they were supposed to stay is no longer Rs 1,000 or Rs 1,500 a night but double that amount,” Ben said.
For some families, the additional expense has become a crisis.
“They are calling relatives back home and asking for financial support so that they can continue staying here,” he said.
The uncertainty has deepened amid reports of inspections and crackdowns on several guest houses operating in the area.
Patients, many of whom are already coping with serious illnesses, worry they could be forced to relocate midway through their treatment.
“They want to be sure the place where they stay is close to the hospital and that they will not have problems later. We are not sure if you can put someone in a hotel today and, after two days, have to find another place for them,” a facilitator said.
Behind these concerns lies an informal network that has developed around private hospitals in South Delhi over the last two decades.
Residents and local facilitators said that when Max Hospital in Saket was established in 2006, many foreign patients initially stayed with local families in nearby villages and residential areas.
Over time, however, language barriers, documentation concerns and suspicions about some foreign visitors led many residents to stop renting out rooms.
As patient numbers grew, budget guest houses and bed-and-breakfast establishments emerged around the hospital, providing accommodation within walking distance of treatment centres, locals said.
Today, dozens of foreign patients stay in these establishments because they are affordable and located directly opposite hospitals, eliminating the need for frequent travel.
Room tariffs typically range from Rs 1,500 to Rs 5,000 a night.
Facilitators and locals said another layer of the system involves brokers who connect incoming patients with hotels and guest houses.
“Often operating through informal networks, these intermediaries refer patients to specific accommodations close to the hospital and help fill rooms throughout the year,” a local said.
The fire and subsequent scrutiny of establishments have disrupted that chain, leaving brokers, facilitators and translators uncertain about what comes next.
Patients who travel to India, Ben said, often become the country’s strongest promoters abroad.
“They are like brand ambassadors,” he said, “If they have a good experience here, they go back and encourage others to come.”
For now, however, many of those conversations have been replaced by questions about safety, accommodation and whether the journey should be postponed altogether.
“And when all these changes suddenly come,” Ben said, adding, “It feels like a loss.”
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