Health regulatory body asks AMRI to refund over Rs 40K
kolkata: West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) has asked AMRI Hospital Mukundapur to refund Rs 40,110 to the family members of a patient, Uttam Bhora (89) who died in the hospital on May 8 this year after being admitted on April 27.
Bhora was a Covid positive patient.
After going through the case, the WBCERC found that the hospital did not abide by the rate chart fixed by the commission.
The hospital had charged a bill of over Rs 6 lakh out of which Rs 84,720 was taken as investigation charges.
The Commission has found that the patient was exorbitantly charged under this head.
The patient was charged Rs 13,000 per day as ICU cost in addition to that an amount was charged for various routine procedures which ought to have been included in the ICU charge.
The same hospital has been directed to return Rs 4,000 to a patient, Subhabrata Basak (29) as the amount was charged in excess.
The patient was taken to the hospital with fever and he was kept at the emergency isolation for over 12 hours without being admitted.
A series of tests were conducted during his stay for which he was charged Rs 44,000.
The WBCERC has however expressed dissatisfaction and raised questions on the rationality of carrying out so many tests other than Covid.
The Commission has asked to provide a discount to one Bimalendu Pal whose wife, Shila Pal (74) died at the hospital on July 1 this year due to multi-organ failure following Covid.
The Commission found that the hospital had exorbitantly charged the patient's family. The bill amount was Rs 15 lakh.
The WBCERC also urged the hospital to consider the cost of extracting a tooth after one Niladri Sekhar Majumdar raised a complaint that the hospital demanded Rs 6,240 for extracting a tooth.
Rupak Barua, Group CEO, AMRI Hospitals however said: "In some cases it seems the complaints are being accepted in an arbitrary manner and even the most insignificant grievances are being given undue importance. Today four of the seven cases have been dismissed, which could have been done even before these were set up for hearing. As for the fines imposed in other cases, we will look into the details and take action as necessary."
