The Delhi government has slapped a fine of Rs 700 crores on five top private hospitals for denying treatment to the poor.
The Delhi High Court brought the hammer down on the private hospitals after an NDTV investigation revealed how they were refusing to treat the poor.
A total of 43 hospitals in the capital were given land at concessional rates on the condition that they would treat the poor for free. However, the investigation revealed that the poor patients were treated badly and thrown out of the five said hospitals.
The high court has also directed the Delhi government to set up a committee to monitor the private hospitals’s activities in related matters.
“The recovery amount has been calculated from the date when the hospital became operational to March 22, 2007, when the high court passed final orders on a PIL demanding implementation of the provision of free treatment to poor and action against the erring hospitals,” Ashok Agarwal, member of the monitoring committee, told NDTV.
Reportedly, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Max Super Speciality Hospital (Saket), Shanti Mukand Hospital, Dharamshila Cancer Hospital and Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute, failed to provide free treatment to the poor and made profits instead.
The hospitals say the order is unfair and that they will appeal against the fine in the court.
According to the Fortis Healthcare Limited “the impugned order is legally flawed and untenable” and that “the management will challenge it in the high court”.
“We believe the order is unfair to us, we stand fully committed in discharging all our obligations towards economically weaker sections,” a statement from Max Super Speciality Hospital said.
The committee has recommended that the fine of Rs 700 crores be used for the development of government hospitals.
