Clinical regulatory body asks pvt hosp to deposit Rs 5 lakh till negligence case is disposed of

Kolkata: The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) has asked the Midland Nursing Home in North 24-Parganas' Belghoria to deposit Rs 5 lakh with the Commission till a medical negligence case raised against the clinical establishment is disposed of.

The WBCERC also instructed the private nursing home authorities to file an affidavit to the Commission giving their version as to why an 18-year-old boy was shifted without preliminary treatment.

The incident occurred on July 10 and it created a furor across the state. The patient was taken to the ESI Hospital in Kamarhati where he was transferred to the Midland Nursing Home. The hospital did not allow the patient to enter the hospital as he was Covid suspect. They later carried out a rapid antigen test and told the family members that the patient had tested positive. The hospital denied any preliminary investigation.

The patient Subhrojit Chatterjee later died at Calcutta Medical College and Hospital.

"We found some negligence on the part of Midland Nursing Home. They should have given primary treatment before transferring the patient to another hospital. We have asked the nursing home authorities to deposit Rs 5 lakh to the Commission till the probe is carried out. The nursing home authorities have also been asked to file an affidavit," said WBCERC Chairperson Justice (Retired) Ashim Kumar Banerjee.

The Commission also heard a case in which a 33-year-old woman, a physically

challenged person accused a private diagnostic center – Quadra Medical Services of lacking any basic amenities for

physically challenged people. She told the Commission that she faced problems at the washroom and also

at ultrasound room as they were not convenient for those who are physically challenged.

The incident took place in August last year.

The diagnostic center told the Commission that they lack adequate space for setting up facilities for physically challenged people.

The WBCERC has therefore urged the Kolkata Municipal Corporation to inspect and consider the matter.

The Commission has also instructed EKO X-ray and Imaging Institute to seek a written apology from a retired Justice of the Calcutta High Court as some staff members have misbehaved with him.

The incident took place in March this year. "Retired Justice went there along with his wife with prior appointment.

They had been kept for a long time. When the retired Justice raised the matter, some staff members misbehaved with him. We have asked the owner, a doctor and a staff

member to seek an apology," Banerjee said.