Dial helpline if pvt hospitals overcharge
The Gautam Budh Nagar administration on Friday released a Whatsapp number (9354357073) for citizens to complain about private hospitals charging them higher than the government fixed rate for treating Covid-19 patients.
Aggrieved persons could share their complaint along with a copy of the relevant bill on the number. If a hospital is found to be guilty, its proprietor will be penalised under the relevant sections of the Epidemic Diseases Act 1897 and Uttar Pradesh Public Health and Epidemic Act 2020, the administration said.
The excess money collected will also be refunded. As per orders issued April 13, 2021 by the state health department, it prescribed daily Covid treatment rates at private hospitals in GB Nagar under various categories.
For National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (Nabh)-accredited hospitals (including entrylevel), charges for isolation beds are fixed at ₹10,000.
For ICU without need for ventilator is ₹15,000, and with ventilator care is ₹18,000. All rates are inclusive of PPE kit cost and supportive care such as beds, food, nursing care, monitoring, imaging and other necessary tests, visits/consultations, etc as per protocol. For other hospitals, isolation beds will cost ₹8,000, ICU without ventilator ₹13,000 and with ventilator ₹15,000. Here too, supportive care is included.
Charges not included are experimental treatment (remdesivir), deliveries, IL-6 test, etc.
Adding more beds
District Magistrate Suhas L Y on Friday said that they are trying to add more beds at the dedicated Covid hospital in Sector 39.
The hospital currently has 240 Covid positive patients, most of whom are on oxygen support.
“An oxygen tank with a capacity of 8.5 metric tonnes has been installed on the hospital premises so that we can increase the capacity of the hospital to 400 beds and supply sufficient oxygen. Provision is being made for storing liquid medical oxygen in the tank after which oxygen availability will improve,” he said. Private firm Kent provided two oxygen plants that generate 25 litres of oxygen per minute at the hospital. These plants started working from Friday, Suhas said.
“One more plant is proposed to be installed at the hospital by another private firm NFL, and it will be completed by the end of this month,” he said.
GB Nagar tally over 50K, Gzb deaths cross 300
GB Nagar on Friday recorded 1288 new Covid-19 cases, pushing the district’s total positive tally to 51,767, according to the state health bulletin. New deaths in the district were 12, bringing the total to 296. The active case count was 8695. Ghaziabad recorded 686 new cases and its death toll was at 309, with six new deaths in the past 24 hours. The total case count till date in the district was 46711 with the active case count at 6707.