Several pvt hosps asked to compensate for flouting Covid advisories
kolkata: West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) on Monday directed a number of private hospitals to provide discounts to the patients or their relatives as they had charged exorbitantly flouting the Covid advisories given by the Commission.
The WBCERC has asked KPC Medical College and Hospital in Jadavpur to provide a discount of around Rs 40,000 to one Pannalal Sengupta, a retired state government employee who had admitted his wife Geeta Sengupta (64) on October 12 this year. The hospital did not admit the patient under the West Bengal Health Scheme and the patient was treated as a cash patient. The hospital authorities told the Commission that they had no beds under the West Bengal Health scheme quota during that time. The patient was kept in a cabin and the hospital has slapped a bill of Rs 1.80 lakh. Patient's husband submitted the bill to his office and the government has cleared around Rs 1 lakh. As a result Sengupta had to pay Rs 80,000 from his pocket. The WBCERC chairperson Justice (retired) Ashim Kumar Banerjee said that if the hospital had admitted the patient under a state health scheme the family did not require paying from their pocket. The WBCER has asked the hospital authorities to provide a 50 percent discount as the hospital had charged excessively under some heads.
WBCERC also asked the Arogya Hospital in Tollygunge to provide a discount of Rs 95,000 to Reena Mitra Ganguly who had admitted her husband Ashoke Kumar Ganguly (73) on August 11 this year. The hospital had allegedly detained the body of the patient after his death on August 21. The hospital had charged a total bill of Rs 5 lakh. The patient's family members had a due of around Rs 1.25 lakh. The Commission has directed the hospital to give a discount of Rs 95,000 out of the remaining dues as the hospital had charges exorbitantly.
The Commission has also asked the Seva Hospital to provide a discount of Rs 53,000 after the patient's family members alleged that the patient had suffered a fracture around his waist. The hospital had prolonged the stay of the patient due to the fracture and also carried out a surgery.
The hospital demanded a bill of Rs 4 lakh. The patient's family members claimed that the patient stepped into the hospital on foot while getting admission and the fracture occurred due to the negligence of the hospital. Techno India DAMA Health Care has also been directed to refund Rs 20,457 as the hospital had charged the family members of a patient, Debranjan Tarafdar exorbitantly. WeCare nursing home in Uttarpara has been asked to provide a discount of Rs 30,000 to one Sankar Das, a Toto rickshaw driver who had lost his son. The hospital had charged excessively, the Commission found.
