The Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Thursday appointed two auditors for each facility to monitor the pricing of Covid-19 hospitals in Mumbai. In the last few days, several reports of skyrocketing charges at private Covid-19 hospitals have been registered in Mumbai.
A senior BMC official told the reporters that the move has been taken to curb overpricing of Covid hospitals in the state.
With this move, patients can henceforth contact these auditors in case they have a complaint of overcharging by a private Covid-19 hospital.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday evening, the BMC was forced to rush oxygen cylinders to a private hospital after the latter reported that it had only over an hour’s worth of stock. Hindu Mahasabha Hospital in suburban Ghatkopar was treating 61 Covid-19 patients, of which 11 were on ventilator and others on oxygen support, the BMC said in a release.
Around 5 pm, the hospital management informed the civic body that the oxygen stock with it can last only for over an hour. The BMC supplied nine jumbo oxygen cylinders by 6.15 pm, while the regular supplier of the hospital provided four dura cylinders. N-ward office of the civic body sent 15 jumbo cylinders as a backup.
To avoid recurrence of such a situation, the assistant municipal commissioner of N-ward has called a meeting with the hospital management on Thursday, the civic body said. The BMC has deputed six officers to coordinate oxygen supply.
Last week, the civic body had shifted 168 patients from its six hospitals after facing shortage of oxygen