The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission on Monday asked New Life Nursing Home to pay Rs 5 lakh to the family of a man who suffered a bile duct injury during surgery to remove gall bladder and later committed suicide.
The wife of Manoj Kumar Parbat, 38, who suffered the injury, told the commission that her husband killed himself as he could no longer bear the pain and also because of fast depletion of the family’s financial resources, said retired judge Ashim Banerjee, the panel’s chairperson.
The hospital on Rajarhat Road had offered to pay Rs 3 lakh to the family but the commission increased the amount to Rs 5 lakh.
“The 38-year-old man got admitted to the nursing home on June 28, 2018, for gall bladder stone removal surgery. During the surgery, he suffered an injury in his bile duct. The nursing home did not conduct any curative surgery,” Banerjee said.
“His family shifted him to other hospitals to treat the bile duct injury. He even went to Chennai to get himself treated.”
Parbat filed a complaint with the commission on January 29, 2019, and the first hearing was held on January 14, 2020. “He committed suicide by the time the first hearing was held. His wife, who was present at the first hearing, told us that Parbat had committed suicide, unable to bear the pain. She also said the family’s financial resources were drying up,” Banerjee said.
During Monday’s hearing, officials of the nursing home told the commission that they had already offered the family Rs 3 lakh to settle the matter but the family was not responding. “We asked the hospital to pay the family Rs 5 lakh. The family had to spend a lot of money for the man’s treatment,” Banerjee said.
The family also lodged a complaint against the doctor with the consumer court.
In a separate case, the commission asked Medica Superspecialty Hospital to offer a Rs 2 lakh discount to a patient’s family. The 71-year-old man was admitted to the hospital on December 6 after he tested positive for Covid-19. The man’s son complained to the commission about overcharging.
“The hospital raised a bill of Rs 13,79,000. The hospital did not offer discounts on medicines and consumables. Besides, the charges of some of the pathological tests were also higher,” he said.
In August last year, the commission had asked private hospitals to offer Covid-19 patients discounts on the maximum retail price of medicines and consumables to lessen the burden of bill on patients or their families.
It had fixed at least 10 per cent discount on medicines and 20 per cent on consumables.
Medica told the commission that they did not offer the discount since the patient had insurance coverage, but the commission did not accept the argument because the insurance company paid only Rs 5 lakh. The patient’s family had to pay the rest, Banerjee said.
In yet another case, the commission on Monday mediated an agreement between a patient’s family and Charnock Hospital in New Town. A 68-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital in June 2018. The hospital raised a bill of Rs 2,38,143.
“The patient was covered under the Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) and they paid Rs 1,78,302. The patient party had to pay the remaining amount,” said Banerjee.
The patient party refused to pay any amount arguing that the patient was covered under the CGHS. The hospital said there were items not mentioned in the CGHS. The CGHS authorities said they had reimbursed what they felt was right.
“The three sides exchanged many letters over three years. On Monday we asked the hospital to offer a discount of Rs 30,000 from the remaining bill amount. The patient will pay Rs 29,881,” said Banerjee.
