NMC notice to pvt hospital over Covid care sans nod

Nagpur: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has issued show cause notice to Alexis Hospital at Mankapur for allegedly treating Covid-19 positive patients without permission and taking excess charges from them.
Municipal commissioner Tukaram Mundhe on Friday directed the hospital to submit reply within two days. NMC deputy commissioner Nirbhay Jain told TOI, “NMC team which conducted an inspection last week found the hospital treating some Covid-19 without permission. Also, some patients at the hospital were charged more than rates finalized by the state government,” he said.
As per government’s norms, Covid-19 positive patients should be treatment at facility developed in a part of hospital or entire building as per guidelines. Norms do not allow for treatment of Covid-19 patients and non-Covid patients in one wing or together.
According to Niranjan Joshi, senior manager of marketing and corporate communications of Alexis Hospital, the hospital has always been following all guidelines of the government as well as the NMC.
He said hospital had admitted suspected patients and immediately informed the NMC. “Some of the suspected patients tested positive which was also immediately informed to the NMC. We transferred them to Dedicated Covid Hospitals (DCHs) as per NMC’s instructions. Some positive patients were retained and treated only after they did not get admission in DCHs and that too only after informing the NMC. We have not violated any norms,” he said.
Joshi added that the hospital has started the process to refund excess charges to five patients. “Excess charges amount worked out by the NMC is Rs4,446 for five patients,” he said.
The civic body has directed the hospital to start Covid-19 services couple of days ago. Joshi said, “Hospital will start the services with 29 beds within a week.”
Alexis Hospital is the third private hospital in the city after Wockhardt DCH and Seven Star DCH to get notice from NMC. But it is first hospital to get notice for treating Covid-19 positive patients without permission. The earlier two hospitals had faced action only for recovering excess charges from Covid-19 and non-Covid patients.