The state clinical establishment regulatory commission on Wednesday suggested that private hospitals do not charge families of dead patients who were admitted under Swasthya Sathi to transport the bodies within a radius of 15km or the municipal limit, whichever is higher.
Retired judge Ashim Banerjee, chairperson of the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission, said the panel also requested private hospitals to extend the relief to those who are not Swasthya Sathi beneficiaries but are unable to pay for the transportation of bodies.
Banerjee said the requests were conveyed to the private hospitals at a meeting convened by the clinical establishment regulatory commission, following a letter from the National Human Rights Commission to the state health department.
Banerjee said the letter raised the point that most of the hospitals did not have mortuaries, which resulted in decomposition of bodies.
“We spoke with the hospitals. The bigger hospitals have mortuaries. They have promised to help smaller hospitals nearby if they require the services of the mortuary,” Banerjee said.
The chairperson said many hospitals told the commission they do not charge any dead patient’s family to keep the body in the mortuary.
The commission will still form a committee to determine the cost of preservation of a body on a no-profit-no-loss basis.
“If a smaller hospital seeks the help of a bigger one to keep the body of any patient, this rate may be followed. If the patient party fails to pay the bigger hospital, the smaller hospital could pay on behalf of the family,” Banerjee said.
Officials of some hospitals in districts requested the commission that they be allowed to keep bodies in mortuaries in government-run hospitals in the districts. Banerjee said he would discuss the issue with the state government.
The commission also suggested that private hospitals do not charge families for transporting bodies — of patients admitted under the Swasthya Sathi scheme — within a radius of 15km or the municipal limit, whichever is higher.
“It is not practical to ask private hospitals to not charge anything to transport a body from Kolkata to Siliguri, for example. So we set this limit,” Banerjee said.
“If the family of a needy patient who died fails to pay (for transporting body), we have requested hospitals to play an affirmative role,” he said.
The meeting was attended by representatives of hospitals from Kolkata, North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas and Howrah.