Regulatory Commission to clear pending cases by this month

Kolkata: The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) will dispose of all the pending cases within this month, said its Chairperson Justice (retired) Ashim Kumar Banerjee on Wednesday. The WBCERC has also increased the number of hearings per week to complete the pending cases.

After starting its operation in 2017, the Commission became a major platform where people could register their grievances against the private hospitals.

During a hearing on Wednesday, the WBCERC approved the plea by the Mission of Mercy Hospital in the city to compensate Rs 8 lakh to the family members of a deceased patient in eight instalments.

Manoj Chowdhury, a resident of the city, had registered a complaint with the Commission alleging that his wife fell on the floor of the bathroom and remained there for a long time and no hospital staff noticed her.

The incident happened on the day when she was supposed to be released. The woman later died. The Commission had earlier directed the hospital to compensate the family with Rs 8 lakh after it found negligence on the part of the hospital.

The family members again sought the intervention of the Commission as the hospital did not pay the amount. The hospital authorities urged the Commission for allowing instalment facility.

The Commission also mentioned that if the hospital fails to pay any instalment, then it will have to pay the amount with 10 per cent interest.

In another incident, the Commission asked the Ruby Hospital to refund Rs 50,000 to the patient, Partha Mitra, who was admitted to the hospital with Covid and later got cured. The Commission found some irregularities in the billing.

The Commission also urged Fortis Hospital to consider a refund to the family members of an eye surgeon, who died at the hospital. The deceased's elder daughter appealed to the Commission for a waiver as the hospital had fixed the bill at Rs 16.21 lakh.

In another case, the Commission asked the ECO Hospital in Barasat under North 24-Parganas to compensate Dipankar Biswas, whose newborn child died at the hospital. The Commission found that there was negligence on the part of nursing staff.