Doctors' team formed to prepare pathological guideline for Covid treatment in pvt hospitals

Kolkata: The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) has formed an expert panel of distinguished doctors from the city to formulate a pathological guideline for Covid treatment at various private hospitals.

One of the main purposes of the move is to lay out specific norms to fix accountability on the private hospitals, some of whom are allegedly overcharging on pathological bills, thereby reducing the financial burden of patients availing Covid treatment at various private health establishments. The WBCERC has felt the need of constituting an expert committee to formulate new guidelines on pathological issues after it found an 'apparent discrepancy' in a bill of a private hospital in Dum Dum, charged against a Covid infected doctor who eventually died at a government hospital. The WBCERC has chosen this bill as a 'specimen' for further examination to determine if the hospital authorities had charged the patient excessively. Allegations of overcharging have been brought against various private hospitals in the city from various sections. It is up to the consideration of the expert committee whether there will be any capping on the upward limit of pathological expenses by the private hospitals during the pandemic.

WBCERC's chairperson, Justice (Retired) Ashim Banerjee said: "We have sought the bill from the private hospital where the patient was charged around Rs 22 lakh out of which Rs 7 lakh was charged on account of pathological tests. The hospital had, however, lowered the bill following the government's intervention. We have found that some tests were repeated by the hospitals and a costly test was also performed on the patient. The expert committee of doctors will probe if the costly test and other tests that were repeated were justified. We would also request the expert team to prepare a model pathological guideline for Covid treatment with or without comorbidity."

The expert committee will comprise Dr Sukumar Mukherjee, Dr Subhankar Chowdhury, Dr Raja Roy, Dr Sarbari Swaika, Dr Maitreyee Banerjee, Dr Bibhuti Saha, Dr Sushruth Bandopadhyay and Dr Tanmoy Banerjee.

In another development, the WBCERC has asked two private hospitals — one situated near Dum Dum airport and the other in Barrackpore — to file an affidavit to the Commission stating their version in connection with two separate incidents of medical negligence. In both cases, the family members of the victims registered a complaint with the Commission.

A woman from Shyamnagar was admitted to a private hospital in Barrackpore for surgery on one of her legs. After the surgery was conducted, a channel was done on her hand for administering intravenous drugs. Before the patient was discharged it was found that the portion of the hand was swollen and it eventually turned into gangrene. Even the leg related problems were not allegedly cured. The WBCERC has arranged the patient's treatment at SSKM Hospital. In the other incident, a 13-year-old boy died of alleged negligence by a private hospital near the airport. The victim, a patient of acute nephritis, eventually died.

The hospital had taken an undertaking from the boy's father that they would not move to any forum.