Delhi govt's legal framework to check errant hospitals, says Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government would come up with a legal framework to check the 'loot' and "criminal negligence" by the private hospitals, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday, in the wake of a premature baby being wrongly declared dead by a city hospital.

The Chief Minister said that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had 'succeeded' in restraining the private schools from arbitrarily deciding their fee structure, adding that a similar legal framework would be put in place in the health sector to take action against the errant private hospitals.

"We do not want to interfere in the functioning of the private hospitals, but if those suffering from ailments are looted and cheated and the hospitals are guilty of criminal negligence against them, being a responsible government, we will interfere in such cases," Kejriwal said.

He also said that the health and education sector i.e. government schools, educational institutions and government hospitals and dispensaries were neglected with the result the private hospitals and private educational institutions promoted and progressed, lagging behind the government schools and hospitals.

"We have allocated maximum budget for up-gradation of health and education and the result is evident as the environment, infrastructure and the education system in the schools and the healthcare facilities in the hospitals and dispensaries have been improved and transformed," the CM said.

Speaking at a function at the Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences (MAIDS), he pointed out two recent incidents –a private hospital charging Rs 15 lakh from a dengue patient and another hospital declaring an infant dead.