Private hospitals making a killing under garb of treatment

Open House: DO YOU THINK THE TRUST AND BELIEF IN THE HEALTH SYSTEM HAS SHAKEN?

Services were better post-liberalisation

Post-liberalisation, education and health sectors were under the control of the government and it was providing satisfactory services. Education and health services were considered as a part of social services and never treated as a business. People used to earn from their regular businesses and donate a part of their earnings for health or education purposes. ENT hospital, children ward and family ward at government hospitals used to be made from the donations of local philanthropists. But post-liberalisation, the scenario changed. Now people think of minting money being in the health and education sector and invest it into other regular businesses such as hotels and resorts etc. Adam Smith had rightly said, “People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.” Hence, incidents of private hospitals fleecing people in the name of Covid are not surprising.

Naresh Johar

Digging deep into the pockets of patients

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Covid has burnt a hole in the pockets of inflicted individuals. The unpredictable course of disease, prolonged treatment, fear of severity and alarming mortality rate forces everyone to get the best possible treatment to save their life. Increasing number of critical cases is a worrying trend. Unlike the first wave of Covid, the second wave has been found to be more fatal among youths

People of 30 to 40 years are succumbing to the virus, which is a cause for concern. Both – the government and private hospitals -with adequate infrastructure and skilled professionals, are packed to capacity. This has led to scarcity of life saving drugs, oxygen supply and beds at hospitals. The consequences of this situation are that people started black-marketing drugs and exploited patients by overcharging them for the services offered at hospitals

Many people who could not arrange funds for their treatment succumbed to the virus. Fearing such incidents, people strived to find alternate ways to remain healthy at home and avoid getting admitted to hospitals. Also, the prices of availing medical facilities have also risen steeply. The cost of medicines, oxygen, PPE kits and shortage of health staff constitute to be major problems faced by the health sector which need to be resolved

Dr Raman Gupta

Admn must act to regain trust

There is a shortage of beds, oxygen supply and also medical staff at various hospitals. A number of people have died in the last few days owing to this scarcity of medical facilities. Even if these services are anyhow ensured at the hospitals, still a lot needs to be done to improve the quality of health infra and sanitation conditions there. People are gradually losing their trust in the health system. The administration can’t solely be blamed for the present situation of the health system as for the past one year, the health sector has been overburdened due to the Covid pandemic. The government had imposed various restrictions such as curfew and lockdown but in vain as there is no respite from the ever raging deadly virus. Amid these conditions, the trust of people in the healthcare system is shaken to the extent that people today prefer getting isolated at their home rather than availing hospital facilities. Many persons have also been seen avoiding the Covid vaccine due to this lack of trust and the situation is thus worsening. The administration must make proper provisions for the health and safety of the citizens to regain their trust. Also, people should act responsibly and follow the guidelines to keep the virus at bay. I request all citizens to trust and cooperate with the government for their own well being.

Izleen

QUESTION

Covid vaccination centres in the city are often crowded with chaotic scenes witnessed almost every day. What are your suggestions to improve the system at the centres?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to amritsardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (May 27).

Act strictly against erring hospitals

I believe that there should be a price cap on every private hospital dealing with Covid cases and that a rate list of these should be posted on an online portal, so that patients can check it beforehand. The authorities should also make sure that the list is updated on daily basis and also provide with the actual figures of number of beds, oxygen supply and stock of emergency drugs such as Remdesivir and Tocilizumab available there. The government should make an independent body which should be given the responsibility for this. Also, there is a need to act strictly against the hoarders and violators. Licence of hospitals fleecing people and indulging in malpractices should be cancelled. In this way we can set an example so that no one can do this type of unethical work. In this way we can build trust with people.

Rohit Kumar Sehdev

Stop exploitation of helpless patients

To minimise exploitation of patients by private hospitals, the state and the Union Government need to take certain measures immediately. The Centre should amend the Corporate Social Responsibility Act to spend the amount in health and education sectors. A high-power flying squad should be formed at district-level to visit private hospitals and keep a check on them and also ensure that patients are not fleeced. The government needs to take stringent action and penalise the hospitals and testing labs which are found providing medical services at exorbitant prices. Last year, during the first wave of pandemic, an SAD ex-minister named a reputed private local hospital for charging a Covid patient with more than Rs20 lakh. He had levelled the charges in a press conference but no action was taken against the hospital. Similarly, a private lab in connivance with a private hospital gave a positive Covid report to a person who didn’t had the infection, again no action was taken against the owner of the lab. Amid these times when the pandemic is raging and the trust of people in the in health system has shaken, the administration needs to rebuild it by taking effective measures. We also need personalities like Sir Ganga Ram, who raised national-level hospitals at Lahore and New Delhi in the British era with his hard earned money for the general public. Sir Ganga Ram was not a businessman but an architect and his will to serve the society brought him name and fame.

Harsh N Johar

Wake-up call for government

Inadequate beds at government hospitals and absence of guidelines on treatment of Covid patients is the reason why a lot of people prefer private hospitals over government. As a result, private hospitals are offering services at exorbitant prices and exploiting people who are already in a lot of problems and don’t have any other option to save lives of their dear ones. Though, there are many hospitals which have also risen to the need of the hour and are working beyond their capacity to meet the exigencies of the Covid pandemic. The “fragility” of the healthcare system in the country posed a huge hurdle in bringing out an effective response to deal with the pandemic while noting that the spending on health was abysmally low. A sustainable pricing model by the government, to treat Covid patients could have averted many deaths and streamlined the treatment in private hospitals. The required infrastructure to imbibe the 5ts – tracing, tracking, testing, treating and technology – should have been established. The number of government hospital beds in the country is not adequate to handle the increasing number of Covid and non-Covid patients, in the wake of the pandemic. Inadequate equipment, PPE kits, oxygen scarcity, ventilators (lying unused), overcrowded wards, unhygienic conditions, poorly maintained toilets, no social-distancing and overstressed healthcare personnel have all contributed to patients rushing to private hospitals. It is a wakeup call for the government to rise above politics and to take the pandemic seriously, upgrade the healthcare facilities in all government hospitals at the Centre, state, district and tehsil level in every village.

Dr KS Manchanda

Administration must come to the fore

The Covid pandemic has spread at an alarming rate like a wildfire and Covid blast has been witnessed in the whole world. With this, the healthcare system has been stretched to its limits. Shortage of beds, oxygen supplies and emergency medicines added to the woes of the patients. Recent reports focus on the increasing incidents of fleecing by private hospitals and service providers. Due to this, people prefer home isolation over availing hospital services. People are definitely losing trust in the healthcare system. Lack of medical supplies and beds is also the reason behind the high fatality rate due to the virus. Awareness among people and masses is the need of the hour. Rumours are proving to be another pandemic among masses, thus there is a need to initiate an effective awareness drive and the authorities must interact with people and aware them about their safety and smash to smithereens their doubts and myths. Moreover, the authorities need to act strictly, expand hospital capacities and equip them with sufficient medical supplies.

Khushpreet Kaur

Doctors serving people religiously

Last year, when the nation witnessed initial cases of Covid infection, some of the laboratories and private hospitals started to not only fleece the worried patients, but also provided some healthy patients with fake positive reports just to mint money. The misery of the masses turned into fortune for some unethical health organisations. It is a fact that this pandemic proved more harmful for the persons with comorbidities, particularly those with diabetes, hypertension, and pulmonary diseases. So such patients preferred multi-specialty private hospitals, notwithstanding the fact that PGIMER offered best services at affordable rates. I have seen that in such a condition of national health emergency, government hospitals and their staff did a commendable job round the clock. A rural dispensary at Gumtala village had been witnessing a huge footfall due to testing and vaccination. The doctors giving services there have been working tirelessly and even contracted the infection due to high exposure to the virus. Government hospitals, despite having limited resources have performed exceedingly well to contain the spread of the virus. Similar is my experience with a private hospital, where my grandmother was admitted for her treatment and the doctors there too served with devotion and without any greed to make money. In the entire scenario, the only laggards have been the governments at different levels. The government and governance has failed its people and healthcare system at every step. The budgetary allocations have been scanty, recruitment of doctors and other associated staff has not been satisfactory for the last many decades, the equipment has also remained under-utilised.

Abhiraj singh Bajwa

More demand, less supply behind fleecing

The doctors and health workers have been serving the nation tirelessly for the past one year. With the rising number of cases, limited staff and shortage of medical supplies, it has become difficult for medics, who are working day-night in PPE kits, to save lives of their patients. Many of them had been facing sleepless nights due to avoidable deaths of their patients. At the same time, due to restrictions such as lockdown and curfew and also increased demand and low supply, prices of all medical items, drugs and various other equipment such as oxygen concentrators have also spiraled. An oxygen cylinder is now available at twice the rate it could be availed earlier. Owing to increased expenses, the expenditure burden is further passed on to patients in the form of bills and other charges.

Jaspreet Grover

Govt must increase health budget

Keeping in mind the state of the healthcare system which has been overburdened due to the pandemic, the government needs to increase the allocations for the health sector in the Budget. Many medical organisations and associations took the responsibility and set up dedicated Covidcare centres, provided free consultation and treatment to Covid patients. Nearly 1,000 doctors have already succumbed to the virus while giving their services. But some black sheep have brought disgrace to the noble profession. News regarding overcharging Covid patients by some private and corporate-run hospitals is shameful for the entire medical fraternity. Despite repeated warnings and strict guidelines by the state government, reports of overcharging patients is quite disturbing especially for those doctors who tend to dispense wellness to its visitors with compassion. Shortage of drugs and oxygen cylinders due to black-marketing is putting doctors in a helpless condition. With a whooping population of around 1,400 million people, the government needs to ensure that it increases the health budget,to improve medical infrastructure,improve doctor to patient ratio by increasing medical postgraduation seats in the country, so that patients can be given better and cheaper health facilities at government setup. To reduce dependency on private hospitals, helpline number 104 has already been set up to address any complaints regarding fleecing. But, the administration also needs to make sure that no false allegation is levelled against any hospital.

Dr Harsimarpreet Singh

People paying through their nose

Undoubtedly the trust and belief in the healthcare system has shaken horribly as rampant incidents of overcharging by private hospitals are being reported. Private hospitals are plundering the Covid patients in broad daylight and under the garb of treatment, they are making a killing taking undue advantage of the people’s compulsion. They are setting a rank bad example by making the afflicted pay through their nose. One has to say that it is easier to recover from Covid than from the shattering blow that the hospital bills are landing on the harried patients. Little do they know that their unethical practice has badly dented the image of the medical profession. Though the government has rationalised the charges at private hospitals and has put a cap on room rent and oxygen rates etc., nothing is preventing them from swindling Covid hit people.Not to lag behind, the middlemen, hoarders and profiteers are making hay amid the pandemic. A strong action needs to be taken against the black sheep indulging in malpractices. Fast investigation and fast-track courts should be formed to give exemplary punishment to the violators of the government’s prescribed rates for the treatment of Covid patients. They should be warned that their properties could be confiscated if they don’t desist from charging exorbitant prices from the patients. Their offences should be made non-bailable to bring them back on the right track. They should be made to prominently display the charges for the treatment of Covid patients.In the US,Covid tests are done free for all natives but here, private labs and hospitals are charging people for that even. A lesson or two should be taken from countries such as Japan which showcase their best behaviour during tragedies and natural calamities. Of course earning money is important but it is not everything. Afterall we are humans and whatever concerns humanity should be of interest to us. Medical professionals are considered next to God but they belie their nature if they are not kind and merciful to their fellow beings, especially during the prevalent pandemic.

Tarsem S Bumrah

Pandemic has caused health crisis

The Covid pandemic has caused a huge loss of human life and presented an unprecedented challenge to public health. The nation is totally helpless and many patients succumbed to the disease for being denied hospital facilities owing to lack of sufficient beds and oxygen cylinders. Due to this increasing gap in demand and supply, some private hospitals found ways to exploit the needy patients by fleecing them. In some cases, patients have even said that they were threatened of dire consequences if they complain about it to anyone. It is very unfortunate to know that private hospitals are making a fortune out of their miseries in this hour of national crisis. Due to the government-imposed lockdown and other restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the virus, youth have been left jobless and finding it difficult to survive in difficult times. The state government had ensured strict action against hospitals which are overcharging for Covid treatment but people don’t have faith in the government’s promises too.Due to black-marketing of certain essential drugs and shortage of beds and oxygen supply the state, people are already facing a lot of problems and many lives have also been lost due to their unavailability.There an urgent need to regulate the healthcare system and emergency services should be ensured to the public.

Parampreet Kaur

Doctors working overtime amid Covid

Doctors are called life saviours and their knowledge and ability has earned them this credit. The pandemic has posed a major challenge for doctors. They are working round the clock at the stake of their own lives to serve the public. However, incidents of some private hospitals overcharging patients for Covid special facilities have shaken the public’s trust in the health system.Several incidents of fleecing have been highlighted in daily newspapers in the recent past and patients have been harassed by the authorities. People are now preferring to stay at home and practice home isolation rather than going to hospitals and get pay for the services provided by them at exorbitant prices. Also, due to shortage of beds at hospitals, even critical patients are denied admission to hospitals which is adding to their woes. Amid all thses conditions, when the whole human race is suffering, doctors are the lone pillars of hope. However, some of them have brought shame to the profession due to their greed. To lose the crown is easy but to re-earn it is most difficult.

Gulshakh Kaur

Medical facilities at record-high prices

The trust of people in the healthcare system is shaken. Though incidents of private hospitals fleecing patients have been reported in the past too, during the pandemic, hospitals have crossed all limits and many lives have been lost for not being able to afford treatment at such exorbitant prices. From hiring an ambulance to renting a room and charges for an ICU bed, all have been seen on record-high levels in these past few days. Even though thegovernment had fixed the rates of some treatments but in the absence of anytangible act, laws and also due to the connivance of political lobby,people are being made to pay hefty price for even minor treatments.The current Covid crisis hit our health system hard and left the patients gasping for the life saving medical oxygen at government-run hospitals. Inadequate supply of oxygen and life-saving drugs at government facilities left peoplewith no alternative but to seek refuge at private hospitals for want of emergencytreatment, which took advantage of the situation and started fleecing people. The faith of people in the healthcare system is badly shaken, leaving them in lurch orto seek home isolation or treatment at charitable run-hospitals.Since health is a fundamental right of every citizen, the government should ensure affordable healthcare to all. It should bring forth legislation oran act to curb ill-practices being followed by private hospitals. The government should also have its representatives in the management of big corporate private hospitals. Small and medium private nursing homes should also be covered under the Clinical Establishment Act.Rates of treatments should be fixed andbe displayed on a notice board outside the hospitals.Private hospitalsshould spare 20 per cent of the total bed capacity for economically weaker sections of the society.Government and private health providers must work in tandem to restore public faithin the healthcare system.

Anil Vinayak

Hospitals must act responsibly

With Covid-19 cases and death toll increasing at an alarming rate, rising number of incidents of private hospitals fleecing people is a cause for concern. The government must devise ways to keep a tab on these institutions to avoid such incidents in future and also act strictly against those who have been found involved in such practices. The government should also put a cap on prices of treatment required by patients and curb the menace to regain people’s trust in the healthcare system. Although private hospitals cannot be excluded from providing Covid treatment as they play a significant role in the fight against the pandemic. Thus, a mechanism needs to be devised to find a solution to this problem.

Saanya Aggarwal

Not all hospitals to blame for this mess

Private hospitals in the state are not as bad as they have been shown in the media. Neelkanth Multispecialty Hospital is one of the black sheep that have brought bad name to the sector. Hundreds of people are benefitted by private nursing homes and government dispensaries. If people are resorting to home quarantine, they are only following Covid protocol. These days, when government hospitals are overloaded with Covid-positive patients, private hospitals are providing OPD services for other ailments such as chest burning, heart disease andrenal problems etc. These also provide suitable healthcare and facilities to patients. Private healthcare centres emerged in the times when the state-run system started failing and no notice was taken of the suffering people.

Prof Mohan Singh

Medical staff working selflessly

Though it might be true that some hospitals are overcharging patients in the wake of the current pandemic situation, the selfless service provided by so many doctors and nurses can’t be ignored. Many health professionals have also lost their lives while protecting people from the pandemic.The erring officials must be booked and strict action must be taken against them. People still have a lot of faith in the healthcare system which is evident from the huge number of people getting the jab at various vaccination centres.

Jatinderpal Singh Batth

Govt must resolve these problems

The second wave of Covid has exposed the unpreparedness as well as mismanagement of our government.Failing to get admission in government hospitals,Covid patients are forced to visitprivate hospitals where they are charged beyond their reach. Due to this, people have been compelled to mistrust the very foundation of public healthcare.Their trust needs to be restored.

TS Bhatti