Cash crunch: Hospital harasses EWS patient

New Delhi: Mother of a patient, admitted at Jeevan Anmol Hospital in Mayur Vihar, on Friday alleged that her mentally retarded and hearing impaired son was detained illegally by the hospital because she was unable to pay the dues of the hospital. 

Saroj claimed that her son Vikram (25) was admitted in the economically weaker section (EWS) ward, but the hospital did not give her the benefits she is entitled to under the EWS category. Saroj reportedly approached Ashok Agarwal, member of the monitoring committee for EWS patients appointed by the Delhi High Court, for help and after his intervention into the matter, the man was released from the hospital in the evening, seven hours after being discharged.

The hospital has, however, claimed that the boy and his mother had run away from the hospital without paying the dues. The hospital claimed that the boy and his mother did not deserve to get treatment under EWS category.

‘The boy was admitted here for seven days and after receiving our treatment he had become fine. At the time of admission, they did not mention anything about EWS and even arranged the money. But after getting treatment, they ran away without paying the dues. They do not deserve to get treatment under EWS category as they could not produce the BPL card or any other relevant document,’ said Dr Vimla Sondhi, medical superintendent of the hospital.

On the other hand, Saroj in her complaint to Agarwal said that she had admitted her son in the emergency ward of the hospital and at the time of admission, she was asked to deposit Rs 15,000. She claimed to have taken a loan to pay the deposit money. 

Saroj further said that after the treatment of her son was complete, she was told to pay Rs 18,440 

more and she told the hospital that she does not have the money. She said in her 

letter that when she came to know about the EWS, she asked the hospital to take benefit of EWS scheme but the hospital refused her the benefit.

‘I was told about this by the mother of the boy in the morning and took up the matter with higher officials of the government. I also called the police. In the evening, the boy got released from the hospital. The poor patient being a EWS patient is legally entitled to free treatment because the hospital is obliged to provide free treatment to EWS patient, Agarwal said

‘I will take up the matter further with authorities as I have even earlier received complaints from EWS patients against this hospital. This hospital is built on public land allotted to it on concessional rate but it is repeatedly breaching the condition of free treatment to poor and such a conduct on the part of the hospital amounts to contempt of the Delhi High Court,’ he added.