The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission has asked Heritage Nursing Home on Ripon Street to pay Rs 10 lakh as interim compensation to a family after it found that the doctor who performed a Caesarean-section surgery did not have any specialisation in gynaecology despite claiming so.

The 30-year-old woman, who underwent the surgery, is admitted to SSKM Hospital and is in a coma, said retired judge Ashim Kumar Banerjee, the chairperson of the commission.

The doctor claimed in her prescription pad that she was a specialist in gynaecology though she only had an MBBS degree, said Banerjee. He said she should not have made the claim without a degree in gynaecology.

The principal of a medical college in Calcutta said doctors with only an MBBS degree should not perform surgery. The principal added that to claim oneself as a specialist in gynaecology, the doctor must either have a postgraduate diploma or a masters’ degree in gynaecology. “Someone with only an MBBS degree should not perform a C-section surgery, though in rural areas, where there are hardly any specialists, an MBBS degree holder performs C-section,” said the principal.

The woman’s family told the commission that they had to admit the woman to two other private hospitals after shifting her from Heritage. “The bill of her treatment in the other two hospitals reached Rs 23 lakh. They have already paid Rs 12 lakh,” said Banerjee.

“We have asked Heritage Nursing Home to pay Rs 10 lakh to the family as interim compensation in 10 instalments, though the hospital did not charge them anything. The family may approach the West Bengal Medical Council as this is a complaint against a doctor. If they get any verdict against the doctor from the council, they can come back to us. We will award the final compensation then,” he said.

The commission also asked AMRI Salt Lake to pay Rs 3 lakh for refusing to admit a Covid patient in June citing no vacancy, though the commission found beds were vacant at the time.

“We have asked AMRI Salt Lake to pay Rs 2 lakh as compensation to the family and Rs 1 lakh to Shramajibi Hospital in Belur as corporate social responsibility spending,” said Banerjee.

The 67-year-old man was taken to the hospital on June 22 and was refused admission.

“While refusing admission the hospital said there was no vacant bed, but we found that beds were available at that time,” said Banerjee.

The commission also asked R Flemming Hospital on Topsia Road to return Rs 2 lakh to a patient after it found that the hospital had overcharged the patient on medicines, consumables and for pathological tests, said Banerjee. “The total bill came to Rs 6.23 lakh. We have asked the hospital to refund Rs 2 lakh in 10 instalments,” he said.