Two private hospitals in Gujarat fined Rs 5 lakh each on COVID-19 treatment violations

Ahmedabad -  Two private hospitals, designated for COVID-19 treatment, were fined Rs 5 lakh each for turning away infected persons and charging fees from patients sent by the civic body in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city, an official said on Tuesday.

In a release issued on Tuesday, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation said it had slapped a fine of Rs 5 lakh each on Artham Hospital in Ambawadi area and Bodyline Hospital in Paldi under the Epidemic Diseases Act.

Read Also: COVID-19 testing policy: Gujarat HC issues notices to state, ICMR

The hospitals will lose their registration if they fail to deposit the sum within seven days, it said.

To ease the burden on government-run hospitals, the civic body has roped in 40-odd private hospitals to treat coronavirus patients.

As per the agreement, these designated hospitals are required to reserve 50 per cent of their beds for patients referred to them by the AMC and are not supposed to charge them for treatment.

They can, however, charge a stipulated fee from other private patients, who can be accommodated on the remaining 50 per cent beds, the release said.

However, authorities found that despite availability of AMC quota beds, Artham Hospital had refused to accommodate a patient referred by the civic body, claiming that all beds were occupied, it stated.

Moreover, a probe revealed that the hospital was using AMC quota beds for other private patients and charging them.

As per the release, Bodyline Hospital had charged fees from patients referred by the AMC and had taken Rs 4,500 from a person as testing fees.

Read Also:  Gujarat HC allows COVID-19 testing by private labs sans prior govt approval in some categories