The state clinical establishment regulatory commission on Wednesday asked Midland Nursing Home on the northern fringes of Kolkata to return Rs 5 lakh to two patients after the hospital refused to extend to them the benefits under the West Bengal Health Scheme.
Retired Justice Ashim Banerjee, the chairperson of the commission, said both patients were taken to the hospital in a critical condition.
The hospital told the families to get them admitted as general patients instead of waiting for the formalities to be completed under the health scheme.
The hospital had promised both families that the patients would be brought under the scheme once the formalities were completed, Banerjee said.
“During discharge, the nursing home refused to prepare their bills under the WBHS and forced them to pay the cost of treatment by cash,” he said.
Of the two patients, one was a 55-year-old woman. The nursing home had billed her Rs 2.65 lakh for her nine-day stay there. The commission asked the Midland to return Rs 1.15 lakh to the patient.
In the other case, Midland had taken Rs 7 lakh to treat a 59-year old woman for 19 days. The commission asked the nursing home to return Rs 3.85 lakh to her.
The Telegraph called two phone numbers of Midland available on the internet. No one answered.
The commission also asked Sterling Hospital in north Kolkata’s Shyambazar to return Rs 26,924 to a patient party as it found the hospital had charged more than the capped rates for PPE and doctors’ consultation fee.
Sterling Hospital Asansol was asked to return Rs 62,000 to the family of a 69-year-old male patient. Of the total amount, Rs 40,000 was penalty for not providing adequate nursing care and Rs 22,000 for excess billing, said Banerjee.
“There was no complaint against treatment. There was a complaint against billing. We have agreed to give the refunds. We will go through the order and take a final decision,” said Swarnava Roy, one of the directors of the Sterling group.