kolkata: In a unique judgment, the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) on Wednesday directed three AMRI hospitals in the city ~ one at Salt Lake, the other two at Dhakuria and Mukundapur to conduct paediatric counseling in slums weekly once over a span of 8 weeks and also to give free treatment in those hospitals to the children from the slums below the age of 12. The Commission has pronounced its judgement after it saw all the three hospitals had exorbitantly charged three patients each flouting the Covid guidelines issued by the Commission. In case of three patients, the hospitals have to come up with revised bills and would return the money taken in excess. The order of punishment for carrying out free counseling in slums was delivered as the Commission observed that many other patients were also unjustly charged exorbitantly by these hospitals during that period for which accountability must be fixed. The judgment comes in connection with the complaints registered by three patients, two of whom were charged Rs 28.47 lakh and Rs 18 lakh respectively for a stay of 50 days and 24 days. During the hearing, the Commission found that many tests were repeated and the rate charts fixed by the Commission were not followed. The WBCERC has asked the AMRI Salt Lake to hold free paediatric counseling at a slum situated at Duttabad while Dhakuria AMRI will carry out the same counseling at a slum in Panchanantala Gobindapur. AMRI Mukundapur has been asked to choose a slum on their own in the vicinity. All the three hospitals under the same group will hold health counseling for the children residing in those slum areas for 8 weeks and will also provide free treatment to the children below 12 years residing in those slums if they need hospitalisation during the span of 8 weeks. The Commission has also directed the AMRI group to provide free-of-cost food to those who will attend the paediatric counseling at these slums. AMRI Hospital group in a press statement said that they are unable to accept the Commissions ruling as the bills charged from the patients are directly proportional to the number of days they spend in the hospitals or to the seriousness of patients. "We also find it unfair that the Commissions pre-emptive assumption that overbilling is a norm at AMRI Hospitals even if the patients do not register complaints with the Commission," reads the press statement.

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