After Fortis, Medanta charges Rs. 16 lakh for 22-day-long treatment
What's the story
Medanta hospital in Gurgaon has charged Rs. 16 lakh for the 22-day-long dengue treatment of a seven year old boy. The boy, Saurya Pratap Singh, passed away on Wednesday. Gopendra Singh, the boy's father, has now decided to take the matter to the Union Health Ministry. This comes after Fortis hospital, Gurgaon, charged another patient Rs. 15.6 lakh for a two-week-long treatment.
Quote
Gopendra Singh vows to take action against hospitals' commercial interests
"We have lost our child and no one can understand the pain. We will not let this matter get buried. We will also register a police case and want our system to take stringent action. These private hospitals must be taught a lesson...," said Singh.
Inflated bills
Details of the Fortis and the Medanta case
The Singhs had to mortgage their house to pay for Saurya Pratap's treatment at Medanta. On seeing no improvement, they shifted him to RML Hospital in Delhi where the child died. Earlier, Dwarka resident Jayant Singh was charged Rs. 15.6 lakh by Fortis hospital for the treatment of his seven-year-old daughter, Adya, who, like Saurya Pratap, also passed away from dengue despite treatment.
Do you know?
The absurd amount of consumables which Fortis charged for
Adya's parents were charged Rs. 15.6 lakh which included costs for 611 syringes, and 1,546 pairs of gloves for a two-week dengue treatment! Moreover, medicines alone cost them almost Rs. 4 lakh.
Investigation
Fortis denies culpability in inflated bills case
Union Health minister JP Nadda had sought a statement from Fortis following the inflated bill incident. Fortis, however, denied any culpability and said that standard procedures had been followed and that Adya's parents had been informed of the bill amount twice on a daily basis. It also said standard treatment protocol had been followed, and that there had been no medical negligence.