Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was livid as some of the private hospitals and nursing homes were not complying with the lease agreement on the basis of which land was allotted to them by the government at a cheaper rate.
During a meeting with the officials of the private hospitals, the Chief Secretary Basudeb Banerjee brought to the notice of the Chief Minister that the private hospitals who were allotted land at a cheaper rate by the government were supposed to give free treatment to some underprivileged by the virtue of the agreement. A section of patients is supposed to get some facilities at in-patient Department (IPD) and out Patient Department (OPD).
Principal Secretary of the state health department RS Shukla told the Chief Minister that none of these private hospitals were found to have fulfilled the conditions of the agreement.
It may be mentioned that the Left Front government never tried to fix the responsibility of these private hospitals despite receiving hundreds of complaints. The state government is now examining all the terms and conditions and the lease agreement to fix the accountability of these private hospitals.
Chief Minister on Wednesday pulled up the senior officials of most of the private hospitals in the city individually asking them about various issues plaguing patients in the state.
Chief Minister asked a top official of the Apollo Gleneagles Hospital in Kolkata why her government was receiving so many complaints against them for overcharging patients.
While interacting with a senior official of Medica Superspeciality Hospital at Mukundupur Chief Minister asked him if they were still running a kidney racket. The hospital recently came under a cloud for allegedly running a flourishing kidney racket. The official denied such involvement.
She asked the Calcutta Medical Research Institute (CMRI) why they did not maintain transparency in case of billing. Peerless Hospital was taken to task for not maintaining ventilation protocols. Banerjee also alleged that Apollo Gleneagles Hospital and CMRI were denying cashless facilities to patients under Swasthy Sathi scheme.
She told the KPC Medical College and Hospital that there were allegations that they do not release the dead body until the deceased's relatives cleared the bills.