Hospital faces action as dead Covid patient’s kin overcharged in Darbhanga

DARBHANGA: A three-member inquiry committee constituted by district magistrate (DM) Thiyagrajan S M has reported that a private hospital took an additional sum of Rs 1.12 lakh from one Ajit Kumar Singh whose son, Dilip, died during Covid-19 treatment on Saturday night. The panel has also recommended initiation of legal action against the hospital.
A resident of Baheri block, Dilip had been admitted to Paras Global Hospital in Darbhanga on May 21.
The committee has mentioned in its report that the Covid patient was not treated according to the prescribed guidelines and administered plenty of unnecessary medicines. Although he was on ventilator for only three days, his father was charged money for nine days. He was also asked for money for “daily use of new PPE kits and other items”.
The panel has also pointed out that the patient’s medical bill should have not exceeded Rs 1.18 lakh on the basis of the rates fixed by the state government for Covid treatment. However, his family was charged Rs 2.30 lakh.
The DM told this reporter on Wednesday that the hospital had been told to return Rs 1.12 lakh to the kin of the deceased. “Legal action is likely to be initiated against the hospital,” he added.