‘Release elderly patient within Tuesday night...’, urges state health regulatory body

The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) on Tuesday urged the ILS Hospital in Dum Dum to release an elderly patient within Tuesday night against Rs 10,000 after the patients’ family members had failed to pay the dues.

An elderly man was admitted to the ILS Dum Dum. The patient’s son Souvik Chatterjee, a complainant in this case, who was outside the state for professional reasons, told the family not to admit the patient to a private hospital due to financial issues. The patient was, however, admitted to the hospital as it was in close proximity from the house. The patient has been undergoing treatment for the past few days and the bill shot up to Rs 5.26 lakh. The patient party had paid Rs 30,000. The WBCERC in its order froze the bill at Rs 4.30 lakh on February 27. The commission ordered a discount on the bill. The WBCERC on February 27 had asked Chatterjee either to pay Rs 4 lakh to the hospital and take the patient or they will be given an option of paying Rs 1 lakh by Wednesday and release the patient while remaining Rs 3.5 lakh has to be paid in instalments of Rs 50,000 in a month. The WBCERC heard the case on Tuesday as the patient’s family failed to pay Rs 1 lakh to release the patient. The patient’s daughter-in-law who took part in the hearing told the commission that they could only provide Rs 10,000. The commission has therefore urged the hospital to release the patient with Rs 10,000. The family members have been asked to pay the remaining Rs 90,000 within a week. They will have to pay Rs 3.5 in instalments of Rs 50,000 per month.

The WBCERC in a separate incident imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Roy Nursing Home after it found some negligence on their part. One Sneha Gope had admitted her father to the nursing home with abdominal pain. The patient eventually died in the hospital. The commission found that there was no RMO to attend to the patient.