New Delhi: It wasn’t too long ago that the country was shocked by the news of a dengue victim’s family being charged Rs 18 lakhs for her treatment at Fortis in Gurugram. There were a lot of hospital negligence stories that followed, but none came as close to the happenings at Fortis like this one, where the family of an ailing pregnant woman was billed Rs 18 lakhs after she succumbed to her illness.
Sweeta, a 19-year-old woman, who was 32 weeks pregnant, was brought to the Asian Hospital in Faridabad with a fever. She underwent treatment at the hospital for 22 days, after which she succumbed.
The deceased’s uncle claimed that she was initially brought in with a fever but, was later moved to the ICU ward as the hospital staff said that she had typhoid and later said that she had a perforated intestine. The family was asked to pay Rs 3 lakhs for the operation, which would be done only after the entire amount was paid. “We submitted Rs 10 to 12 lakhs after which they asked for Rs 18 lakhs,” the uncle claimed.
The hospital authorities have denied these allegations, stating that the family was informed about the seriousness of the condition of the woman and her unborn child. They stated that the woman, was operated after it was discovered that she had a perforated intestine, but they were unable to save her life.
The hospital said in its statement, that after the woman was transferred to the ward, she began to complain about abdominal pain after which a PV examination was conducted where it was found that she was in advanced labour. They also stated that the family was unwilling to pay the bills and resorted to using violence and alleging negligence in order to avoid making the payment.
The woman’s family has however, demanded that the hospital be investigated for inflationary charges.
