Health Commission asks R Fleming Hosp to give compensation of Rs 1 lakh

Kolkata: The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) on Friday instructed R Fleming Hospital to provide compensation of Rs 1 lakh to the family members of a deceased patient after it found some negligence on the part of the private hospital.

WBCERC has sought an opinion from a hematology expert to fix accountability on Binayak Hospital which had wrongly transfused blood on a patient identified as Poulomi Bhowmik. Hospital admitted its fault before the Commission and also claimed that it did not take any charges from the patient whose health condition is still serious. The Commission will pronounce final judgement after getting expert opinion.

The WBCERC Chairperson Justice (Retired) Ashim Kumar Banerjee said that one Sabir Khan admitted his 58-year-old wife to R Fleming Hospital on December 10 in 2019 with fever. The patient later died in the hospital on December 17. The patient's family members alleged that oxygen tube was removed from the patient's face when she had been in the ICU and the nurse was allegedly sleeping. The patient was bleeding from her mouth and later red patches appeared on various parts of her body. The family members alleged that she was not given proper treatment. After hearing the case, the Commission asked the hospital authorities to provide compensation to the family members.

The hospital has also been instructed to submit Rs 10,000 to the Commission as penalty.

The victim was a resident of Topsia.

In another incident, the WBCERC asked Medica Superspecialty Hospital to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 in connection with an incident of negligence. Madhurima Dutta, a diabetic patient was admitted to the hospital for heart operation. She was released from the hospital and had been readmitted as her health deteriorated. It was alleged that during the second visit another doctor saw the patient. The patient was kept waiting as the family members had to arrange Rs 1.10 lakh as demanded by the hospital for the admission for the second time. The patient was later transferred and she died. The Commission found during hearing that there was some negligence on the part of the hospital and ordered compensation.

The WBCERC referred a separate case relating to the same hospital to the medical council as it was alleged that Trichiastomy was performed by other doctors apart from ENT specialists. Samarendra Nath Mukherjee, a resident of Birbhum was admitted to the hospital and later transferred to another private hospital. He had developed infection and died. The hospital bill reached Rs 22 lakh.

The Commission has also referred another case to the medical council in which a 13-year-old girl had allegedly lost voice after undergoing treatment at BM Birla Hospital. The victim has currently been undergoing treatment at NRS Medical College and Hospital.

In a separate hearing the Commission asked AMRI Hospital Mukundapur to give a discount of Rs 16,000 to a patient Babu Chaudhury who was admitted to the hospital on July 22 this year for gallbladder surgery. He had to be readmitted twice as complications arose.

He was charged Rs 9,000 for isolation bed and Rs 13,000 for ICU bed.

ILS Hospital Dum Dum has also been instructed to refund Rs 40,000 to a patient Ajay Kumar Khaitan who was exorbitantly charged for PPE. The hospital demanded Rs 58,000 as PPE charges.

The WBCERC ordered Charnock Hospital to provide compensation to the family members of a patient who died at the hospital and her death certificate was wrongly done by the hospital doctor.