Haryana Health Minister asks private hospitals to make self-regulatory rules

Ambala: Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij has indicated the private hospitals to make self-regulatory rules after the state government cancelled the licence of the blood bank and pharmacy of the Fortis hospital at Gurugram.

“With the action against Fortis Hospital, corporate-type hospitals should get a message that they make self-regulatory rules. Only minting money should not be the aim of hospitals,” Vij told ANI on Sunday.

The licences were cancelled after irregularities were found in the hospital’s blood bank and pharmacy.

“After the death of a girl due to dengue, a three-member committee was sent to Gurugram’s Fortis hospital. In its report, the committee stated there were irregularities in the hospital’s pharmacy and blood bank, following which we have cancelled the license of the blood bank and the pharmacy,” Vij said.

He said that the committee also informed about other irregularities against the hospital and action will be taken against it by other departments.

“For further action against the hospital, the health department has written to the Police and Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), which had provided land for the hospital. We also wrote to the Indian Medical Association (IMA) about other irregularities and have asked for the status report,” Vij said.

The committee has alleged several irregularities, including refusal of an appropriate ambulance service to the patient, not following leave against medical advice (LAMA) protocol, and overcharging.

According to the IMA protocol, a patient is discharged against the medical advice then the hospital arranges or advises for an ambulance that could provide similar conditions.

“The ambulance in which the girl was being transported had no such facilities. An Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance should have been used. But Basic Life Support (BLS) ambulance was provided which had no such facilities,” Vij told ANI on December 6.

Parents of the seven-year-old girl, who died on November 21 of Dengue Shock Syndrome (DSS), had alleged that the Fortis Hospital charged Rs 16 lakh for the 15-day treatment.