Coimbatore: Two hospitals barred from providing Covid-19 treatment

COIMBATORE: In a stern action, health officials have banned the Dr Muthu’s Hospital at Saravanampatti in Coimbatore and the Sowmya Hospital in Tirupur from admitting or treating Covid-19 patients as they have been found to be overcharging the patients.
While the order cancelling Dr Muthu’s permission to treat Covid-19 patients came on Thursday evening, the department of health services in Tirupur issued the order against the Sowmya Hospital on Friday.The move comes in the wake of growing complaints against both the hospitals to the medical and rural health services departments.
Coimbatore medical services department said the Dr Muthu’s Hospital had not cooperated with the inquiry and audit that was conducted by the medical and rural health services department and failed to submit the required documents. However, patients already undergoing treatment at the facility could complete the hospitalization period.
An official with the health services department said as per the complaints the hospitals were charging Covid-19 patients, including those on high-flow oxygen in intensive care units, up to Rs 1 lakh a day against the government fixed tariff of Rs 27,500. There were also complaints that the Dr Muthu’s Hospital was incompetent to treat Covid-19 patients, with some relatives stating that the condition of their loved ones, who were admitted with a lung CT severity score of 2/20, getting worse and succumbing to the virus in some cases.
“Your facility, Dr Muthu’s Hospital Private Limited, Saravanampatti, has not cooperated for the inquiry and audit. Hence, under the Tamil Nadu Clinical Establishments Act, 1997, and rules 2018, your facility has been suspended from treating Covid-19 patients from now onwards,” said the notice issued to the hospital.
TOI had on May 18 reported how several smaller private hospitals with less than 100 beds were charging Covid-19 patients to the tune of Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh a day.