More trouble for Max Hospital? Notice sent in November for not treating poor, records show

The notice mentions how the inspection showed "conditions of the EWS OPD and waiting area was pathetic and services in the OPD was discriminatory".

Pooja Shali  | Edited by Ekta Handa
December 2, 2017 | UPDATED 14:26 IST
Photo: maxhealthcare.inPhoto: maxhealthcare.in

Highlights

  • 1
    Max Hospital was in news recently for declaring two babies as born dead who were later found to be alive.
  • 2
    The license was issued after the hospital agreed to conform to the norms for providing free/discounted treatment to poor patients.
  • 3
    The hospital is under obligation to provide 25 per cent OPD to poor persons.

India Today has obtained documents that show that the Delhi government had issued a show cause notice to Max Hospital, Shalimar Bagh in November.

This is the same hospital in Shalimar Bagh which had declared a living infant dead. The hospital has been accused by Health Services for flouting norms of free treatment to patients from economically weaker sections (EWS).

The show cause notice was sent to the hospital seeking a response on why it failed to adequately serve poor patients as prescribed.

The issue of not earmarking beds for poor and failure to provide free treatment in OPD was specifically raised.

The three page notice by Directorate General, Health Services, Delhi government was sent to Medical Superintendent, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi.

The notice states, "Max Healthcare Ltd. was informed their bid was accepted in the auction on 17.12.2007 subject to the condition that the hospital shall conform to the requirement of free treatment as may be prescribed by GNTCD/Govt. Of India from time to time and violation of these rules shall lead to cancellation of the lease".

The notice further quotes the High Court order stating that such hospitals have to provide free treatment to poor people i.e. 25 per cent OPD and 10 per cent IPD completely free of all charges in any respect.

Shockingly, the notice mentions how the inspection showed "conditions of the EWS OPD and waiting area was pathetic and services in the OPD was discriminatory".

It was located in the corner of hospital premises, next to a noisy Genset and building construction material lying all around. The makeshift area also had broken chains.

The hospital is under obligation to provide 25 per cent OPD to poor persons but data received by health services mentioned free OPD achievement of only 7.1 per cent and 8.1 per cent on different dates.

The beds were not marked for the concerned category of patients.

The hospital is required to put up boards to inform patients, whose annual income wages are low or irregular like unskilled labourers. However, as per details in show cause notice the inspection found no such boards were put up.

As beds were not earmarked, this offence hints that the mentioned hospital attempted to earn unwarranted profits at the cost of poor.

The Delhi government is awaiting a response from the hospital.

Speaking to India Today, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain accepted that a notice was indeed sent last month and that strict action will soon follow since a fresh incident came to light.