Kolkata: The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) has instructed AMRI Hospital in Dhakuria to return Rs 1,40,000 out of the total Rs 1,84,500 collected by the hospital from a patient as personal protective equipment (PPE) and sundry charges for 26 days.
An 86-year-old male patient from the city was admitted to the hospital during the ongoing pandemic after he had complained about various ailments.
The hospital authorities charged the patient over Rs 7,000 per day for a total period of 26 days under PPE and sundry charges.
The insurance company refused to pay such a high amount charged by the hospital under the PPE and sundry expenses. The family members moved the WBCERC as they found 'absurd' charges. After carrying out an investigation the commission found that the hospital imposed excessive charges on the patient in contrary to the state government's directives where the latter had fixed the PPE charges. and asked the hospital to return Rs 1,40,000 to the patient.
The family members have been urged to provide their bank account details to the hospital authorities who have agreed to pay back the amount.
In another judgment, the WBCERC has imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on a private hospital situated off EM Bypass near Baghajatin after the commission found medical negligence on the part of the hospital. An elderly woman was admitted to the hospital in February last year with various age related ailments.
The patients had died on February 28, 2019. The family members lodged a complaint with the commission in June after which a probe was initiated.
Another incident of negligence surfaced against a private hospital in Alipore where a patient was allegedly denied treatment after he tested positive for Covid.
"We have sought the CCTV footage of the hospital and asked the hospital authorities and the patient party to submit an affidavit stating their versions," said WBCERC chairperson Justice (retired) Ashim Kumar Banerjee.
"We have also received a complaint from a woman living in Sweden through Whatsapp on Wednesday morning where she alleged that a private hospital in Anandapur has charged her father to the tune of Rs 15 lakh. We have taken a cognizance and contacted the hospital and then sent the hospital response to the complainant," Banerjee further added.