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Accused of fleecing patients, Hyderabad pvt hospital barred from Covid treatment by KCR govt

Deccan Hospitals branch at Somajiguda, one of many private facilities accused of overcharging Covid patients, has said it will challenge the decision. 

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New Delhi: The K. Chandrashekar Rao government in Telangana Monday barred the Deccan Hospitals branch in Hyderabad’s Somajiguda area from treating Covid-19 patients following multiple reports of patients being overcharged at the facility and other private hospitals. 

The bar was notified through an order issued in the evening by Telangana director for public health, Dr G. Srinivasa Rao.

The Telangana government has fixed certain price ceilings for private hospitals treating Covid-19 patients in the state — isolation ward at Rs 4,000/day, Rs 7,500/day for ICU room without ventilator, and Rs 9,000/day for ICU room with ventilator. In the order, a copy of which was accessed by ThePrint, Rao has said that there were numerous complaints against Deccan Hospitals for allegedly fleecing patients, following which they conducted an inquiry.

Saying that the hospital was charging patients exorbitantly, and that the ceiling fixed by the government was not being followed, Rao added in the order, “No new Covid-19 patient shall be admitted by the said hospital, and no inconvenience shall be caused to already admitted patients.”

The Covid-19 patients already in the hospital, Rao said, will be treated in line with the price ceilings set by the state government. 

“If it is found that the hospital is not following these orders, then the government will be compelled to cancel the licence issued to the hospital,” he added.

Prem Kumar Reddy, Deccan Hospitals general manager, said he will challenge the government’s decision. “I welcome it, but why must they single us out? (As many as) 99 per cent of the hospitals are overcharging and, in fact, charging even more than us,” he told ThePrint. “They must follow the same protocol for all private hospitals then,” he said.


Also Read: How coronavirus is exposing the ‘autocratic’ leadership of ‘missing’ CM KCR


Patients allege harassment

The hospital came under the scanner last week after a young Telangana resident named Anreddy Radhesh, who lost both his mother and father to Covid-19 at Deccan Hospital, alleged mistreatment at the facility. Among other things, he alleged that the hospital asked him to pay Rs 7.5 lakh to claim his father’s body.

The post went viral and triggered a hashtag #justiceforanr. Several people retweeted the thread, asking for speedy action against the hospital. As of Sunday night, Telangana had reported 66,670 Covid-19 cases and 551 deaths. 


Also Read: Half of Telangana’s Covid deaths were patients without comorbidities, most of them men


 

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Heard going rate are min 1L per patient with Oxygen Therapy and some medication in Hyderabad What is important is put a uniform charges across both normal and Insurance Patients. Also, rates shouldn’t be so low the Private Hospitals make loss but also get some profit. This will be win-win to all.

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