Surya Hospital made victim pay for medicines

Sahyadri Hospitals Ltd’s director Sadanand Bapat’s admission that the German Bakery bomb blast victim, Saqr Al-Bethany, paid Rs15,000 towards medicines used in his treatment amounts to violation of government directives on treating victims of the terrorist attack.

Speaking to DNA on Tuesday on behalf of Surya Hospital, which is now a part of the Sahyadri Group of Hospitals, Bapat had maintained that half of the Rs32,000 that had been paid by the victim, was towards medicines purchased from the pharmacy.

“The medicines were purchased from the Surya Hospital pharmacy by Al-Bethany’s friends, who did not submit the bills to us for reimbursement. Thus, we will not reimburse this amount,” Bapat said. He was speaking in the presence of the chairman of the Sahyadri Group of Hospitals, Dr Charudatta Apte, who endorsed Bapat’s view.

DNA, in an exclusive report (Surya Hospital’s billing to be investigated, December 14) highlighted the plight of the Yemeni patient who suffered 45% burns in the bomb blast. The patient, who was admitted to Surya Hospital from February 13 to March 2, has been seeking reimbursement of payments charged to him by Surya Hospital.

Soon after the terrorist attack on February 13, which killed 17 people and injured more than 60, the Maharashtra government issued a directive specifying that the cost of medical treatment of victims would be borne by the government. The district collectorate issued strict instructions that hospitals should not trouble any victim for payment.

Significantly, other city hospitals which treated German Bakery blast victims begged to differ from the stand taken by the Surya Hospital authorities.

The Inlaks & Budhrani Hospital at Koregaon Park, which was the closest to the site of the blast and treated 16 critically-injured victims, besides 30 others in the out-patient department (OPD), did not claim any amount from the victims.

Speaking to DNA, the hospital’s medical superintendent, Dr Asha Relwani said, “We, from the very beginning did not claim any amount from victims. Although we were not sure initially of the terrorist attack that took place on February 13, we were aware of the mass casualties. We did not charge anything to patients from the very beginning.”

When asked whether Inlaks & Budhrani had charged the victims for the cost of medicines, as was done by Surya Hospital, Relwani said, “The government directives had clearly stated that all costs — be it medicines, surgeries or stay in the hospital — would be borne by the government. Why then should we ask patients to get the medicines?”

She said that Surya Hospital, which treats a number of burns cases, should have been sensitive “because treatment comes first and charges come later”.

Inlaks & Budhrani, which treated 16 critically injured patients of whom three succumbed, has claimed Rs37 lakh as compensation from the government.

Jehangir Hospital too told DNA that none of the bomb blast victims were charged by the hospital. “No victim was charged for any medicines or admission. Everything was for free. So far, approximately Rs25 lakh is awaited from the government as compensation. We have included every single detail — from the medicines to the dressing of wounds of the patients,” said

Sainath Pradhan, senior marketing manager of Jehangir Hospital.
Unlike in the case of Surya Hospital, a number of friends and relatives of other victims said that there was no harassment for payment from hospitals which treated them.

Amit Vermani, a close friend of Aditya Mehta, 21, who succumbed to his injuries, said that right from the beginning Jehangir
Hospital did not trouble the victim’s friends and relatives with prescriptions to purchase medicines.

“We did not do any running around when Aditya was admitted,” said Vermani. Nancy, wife of Kantilal Jhala, who suffered burns in the bomb blast said, “We were lucky that the hospital never harassed us for the medication and admission charges.”