Delhi Man Slams Apollo Hospital after paying Rs 2300 for senior doctor consultation, ends up with assistant

New Delhi: A Delhi man's recent visit to Apollo Hospital, Sarita Vihar, took a disappointing turn after he shared his frustrated experience in a viral social media post. Calling out the hospital's transparency in patient care, the man alleged that despite paying a Rs 2,300 consultation fee for an appointment with a senior doctor, he was primarily attended by an assistant. 

The patient who booked an appointment for consultation with a senior doctor took to 'X' to express his frustration regarding the incident and described his experience as "Absolutely disgusting." He claimed that the senior doctor made a brief appearance, discussed his case with the assistant, provided instructions, and then promptly left, leaving him feeling frustrated. 

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Through his posts, the user intended to convey why he was attended by the senior doctor's assistant instead of getting some time to speak with the senior doctor, despite paying a hefty consultation fee.

"Paid Rs 2300 consultation fees at Apollo Hospital Sarita Vihar for consultation with senior doctor. The assistant came and discussed the case for 10-15 minutes. The senior doctor came later. Discussed things with his assistant. Meanwhile, his assistant suggested what to do or what not. Where is the expertise/suggestions/experience of senior doctor?" he wrote on X.

Tagging Apollo Hospital in the post, he questioned "What kind of behavior is this? Who will inform us that a consultation fee is charged for a consultation with the Assistant and not the Senior Doctor? We took prior appointment for consultation with Senior Doctor."

Shortly after the man's post went viral, it gained attention and mixed reactions from the netizens, with some users criticizing and justifying the situation, while others expressing support for him.

A user said, "That’s how it is the case with most of the senior doctors in big hospitals. Experienced the same in Max Saket. Juniors do a detailed case study and present the case to senior doctor. Senior reviews, discussed gaps with them, but still owns the medication. On the job learning is critical for junior doctors. Didn’t see a problem in the approach. Collective consultation is better, theoretically."

In response to this, the man said, "They should charge consultation fee for Junior Doctor. I paid for the experience of Senior Doctor Sir. I don't have any problem with discussing things with Junior Doctor. I just expected help from Senior doctor. That's it."

"Essentially Junior Doctor is doing the Job with a bit of review from senior doctor, not fair for the patient. If additional fee is being paid, senior doctor should be directly involved. On the job learning can be still done in different manner," said another user.

"Agreed.However had the senior doctor given a few minutes to the patient to just give him confirmation on the approach of the treatment, it would have done a world of good for the happiness of the patient.," "This is the least they can do to assure a patient. Common people need to depend on them, and it is the whole point of being a doctor that the patient is spoken to and feels better and taken care of by a doctor," said different users on a positive note. 

Reaching out to Medical Dialogues regarding the matter, Apollo Hospitals shared a media note that mentioned, "At Apollo Hospitals, we follow a team-based approach to ensure every patient receives comprehensive and high-quality medical care. Every patient is seen by a qualified doctor who is part of the medical team, ensuring thorough evaluations and expert guidance. Our senior doctors work closely with their teams, which include trained medical professionals & junior doctors assisting in the consultation process under their supervision. 

This structured approach allows for efficient and seamless patient care. In this case, the patient was not seen by an “assistant” but a qualified super-specialist who is part of the senior doctors’ team. The patient and the family was met with by the senior leadership at Apollo Hospitals. Our protocol and approach was satisfactorily explained in detail to them. We remain committed to maintaining the highest standards of medical excellence and ensuring a trusted experience for all our patients."

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