New Delhi: The Delhi government has ordered five top private hospitals in the national capital to deposit “unwarranted profits” of more than 7 billion rupees made by denying treatment to the poor. The hospitals say it’s “unfair and they shall appeal in court.”
A total of 43 private hospitals in Delhi were given land at concessional rates on condition that they would treat the poor for free. At that time, the hospitals set 10 percent of Indoor Patient Department and 25 percent of Outdoor Patient Department services free of cost for the poor.
However, an investigation by a leading television channel NDTV revealed that poor patients were ill-treated and thrown out of these hospitals.
The high court had also asked the Delhi government to set up a monitoring committee to probe into the matter.
“The recovery amount has been calculated from the date when the hospital became operational to March 22, 2007, when the high court passed final orders on a PIL demanding implementation of the provision of free treatment to poor and action against the erring hospitals,” Ashok Agarwal, member of the monitoring committee, told NDTV.
According to the government report, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Max Super Specialty Hospital (Saket), Shanti Mukand Hospital, Dharamshila Cancer Hospital and Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute, failed to provide free treatment to the poor and made profits instead.
The order, however, does not rule out action against more hospitals.
Reacting to the order, Fortis Healthcare Limited said, “The impugned order is legally flawed and untenable. The management will challenge it in the high court.”
“We believe the order is unfair to us, we stand fully committed in discharging all our obligations towards economically weaker sections,” Max-Super Specialty Hospital said in a statement.
The committee had also recommended that the fine of 7 billion rupees should be used for the development of Delhi’s government hospitals.