Kolkata: The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) on Wednesday directed Fortis Hospital to refund a patient’s family of around Rs 35,000 and also asked BM Birla Hospital to return Rs 20,100 which was allegedly taken in excess from a patient’s family members. Both the hospitals had allegedly exorbitantly charged the patients in separate incidents.
The commission also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on BM Birla Hospital for allegedly refusing a Swasthya Sathi patient. In another incident, the WBCERC imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Desun Hospital for not giving medical records to a patient’s family members for the past five months. The patient had urged the hospital to provide medical records which the hospital had refused.
The patient’s family had engaged a lawyer who had sought the records under RTI but the hospital had stated that they did not fall under the purview of the RTI Act.
The family members finally registered a complaint with the WBCERC following which the hospital had given the copies to the patient’s family as well as to the commission. The hospital has argued that they do not always keep the medical records of the past. The WBCERC has, however, imposed a fine on Desun Hospital.