A family in Kasba, who underwent Covid tests last week, alleged the private hospital, which had sent its personnel to collect swab samples from their homes, charged each of the four persons Rs 2,800.

When they got the receipt from the hospital, the amount mentioned was Rs 2,250, as stipulated by the state government.

Another family in Behala, who had taken the service of the same private hospital to get their swab samples collected from home last week, alleged the person who came to collect the samples asked them to pay Rs 3,200 for each sample.

The family in Kasba got in touch with the hospital and officials told them the collection had been outsourced to an agency and it was their people who had collected the samples.

“The hospital then sent the agency representative to our home who returned the balance amount but kept Rs 150 as transport cost,” the Kasba resident, a retired central government employee, said.

“Initially when we had called the hospital, the person who received the call said they would send someone to our home. At no point were we told that someone from an outsourced agency would collect the samples. So, we thought the hospital was overcharging us.”

If a hospital is outsourcing the home collection of swab samples then it has to ensure such agencies maintain hygiene and use proper equipment to collect samples, according to public health experts.

The state government has capped the price of Covid-19 tests to a maximum of Rs 2,250. But for collection of samples from home, the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission has issued an advisory that a maximum of Rs 15 can be charged for every kilometre as transport cost over and above the fixed amount of Rs 2,250.

An official of the private hospital off the Bypass said it had 35 such outsourced agencies, which collect samples from homes across Calcutta and North and South 24-Parganas. The hospital collects about 200 samples from homes every day, the official said.

“We have trained them on how to collect samples. But it’s not possible to keep a watch on every agency at the micro level. If we get complaints, we immediately address them,” the official said.

The chairman of the hospital group said it was not possible to conduct tests at homes for Rs 2,250. “We have told the commission that Rs 15 for every kilometre as transport cost is not viable. They should allow at least an additional Rs 300 for the PPE cost,” he said.

The chairman said the outsourced agencies might be overcharging people because of the low margin.

Officials of several private hospitals and diagnostic centres said they had not outsourced the swab collection from homes because of such issues. But they agreed that home collection was in high demand because many people were scared to visit hospitals for tests.

“Collecting a swab sample for Covid test is a highly specialised job and the technique and equipment should be as per the standards set by the Indian Council of Medical Research,” Somnath Chatterjee, director of Suraksha Diagnostics Pvt Ltd, said.

The centre has been doing home collection of swab samples. “We have not outsourced to any agency because of quality control and other issues. The virus transport media, the equipment that is used to collect the sample, should be approved by the ICMR.

We are not sure if the outsourced agency would be following the rules. Also, we cannot control the amount they charge people.”

The diagnostic centre has been collecting close to 40 samples every day through its own employees, Chatterjee said.

The CEO of a private hospital said the hospital had started home swab collections but had brought down the numbers because too many samples could compromise the quality.

“We send doctors to collect samples. I am not sure whether the quality can be maintained if any technician who has not undergone proper training is sent,” he said. The samples collected need to be stored in temperature-controlled boxes before being brought to hospital, he said. “It is difficult to ensure an outsourced agency maintains such standards.”