Kolkata: The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) on Thursday held Manipal Hospital, Mukundapur responsible for denying a patient under the West Bengal Health Scheme and charging the patient exorbitantly.
The WBCERC has issued instructions saying that the hospital will have to treat the patient under the West Bengal Health scheme and it would get only around Rs 37,000 for the treatment of the patients as per the rate chart of the state health scheme.
The hospital had treated the patient as a cash patient and charged them exorbitantly.
During the hearing, the WBCERC came to know that a police officer, Biswajit Ghosal took his son to the hospital with a fracture in his hand. In the OPD, the patient was treated as a state health scheme patient. When the doctor suggested surgery, Ghosal urged the hospital to carry out the surgery under the state health scheme. However, the doctor allegedly refused to perform the surgery under the West Bengal Health Scheme. The patient’s father was asked to bear a package of Rs 90,000 for the surgery. The hospital eventually charged Rs 1,37,000 for the surgery, higher than the package amount.
The Commission found it grossly unethical. The hospital authorities told the Commission during the hearing that the doctor was a visiting doctor and the hospital authorities were not responsible. The WBCERC said that hospital would get the amount of around Rs 37,000 as per the West Bengal Health Scheme rate. An officer of the state health scheme was also present in the hearing.
The hospital will have to return the amount which was taken in excess over Rs 37,000. The Commission also directed the hospital to immediately submit the OT note and discharge summary to the West Bengal Health Scheme cell.