The state government intends to cap the price a patient admitted to a private hospital has to pay for the personal protective equipment (PPE) and the number of kits for which he or she can be billed, sources said on Friday.

“It is now common knowledge that PPE kits are available within a range of Rs 300 to Rs 800. MRP tag has no consequences. Please keep it in mind while billing the patients,” retired judge Ashim Kumar Banerjee, the chairperson of the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory, stated in a voice message posted on a closed WhatsApp group.

Private hospitals are members of the group.

In another post, Banerjee said “unpleasant complaints” were pouring into the commission’s office over billing. He urged private hospitals to mail the updated bill to the patient or a family member every day to maintain transparency.

“We have received reports that some private hospitals are charging an amount for PPE which is much higher than the procurement price. There is no parity. As for the number of PPE, patients are being charged arbitrarily,” said an official of the health department.

Some hospitals, he said, are charging up to Rs 2,000 for one PPE.

The Telegraph reported on Friday that chief secretary Rajiva Sinha had on Thursday raised the issue of PPE with private hospitals.

Some hospitals said they were charging the patients just the procurement price of PPE. “We are charging the procurement cost. The number of PPE for which a patient is being charged is calculated on the basis of the number of doctors and nurses in a ward, the number of shifts in a day and the number of patients in the ward,” said Sudipta Mitra, the chief executive of Peerless Hospital.

The commission chairperson has also requested private diagnostic laboratories to reconsider the rates of Covid-19 tests. “The number of tests has gone up…. It is high time, you consider the cost of tests,” Banerjee had said in a post in the WhatsApp group on Thursday night.

On Friday, several hospitals and laboratories announced reduction of test rates.

“In deference to the desire of the state government, as advised by the chief secretary and other senior government officials, Medica is pleased to reduce the charges of RT-PCR tests to Rs 2,400,” said Alok Roy, chairman, Medica group of hospitals.

Sources said two laboratories, too, reduced the rate to Rs 2,400. Earlier, they were charging Rs 2,800.

The Indian Council of Medical Research has capped the test rate at Rs 4,500. Some private hospitals are still charging that rate. “We don’t have enough volume to reduce the rate,” said an official of a private hospital.

CMC grievance cell

Calcuttans can approach the borough coordinators in their respective areas to lodge complaints about Covid-19 treatment. Borough coordinators are former borough chairpersons, who were given the new designation after the tenure of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation had ended in May.

Susanta Ghosh, the coordinator for borough XII, said complaints could be lodged verbally or in writing. “We will forward the complaints to the nodal officer of Calcutta, who looks after Covid-19 management,” said Ghosh.

The decision that people could lodge complaints with borough coordinators was taken at a meeting called to discuss strategies to combat dengue, malaria and Covid-19, said Ghosh. The meeting was held at the office of the CMC’s borough XII on Friday,

Senior officials of the CMC’s health department attended the meeting.