Distraught fathers of child victims appeal to govt
Distraught fathers of child victims appeal to govt.
Two distraught fathers, whose children died at private hospitals while being treated for dengue last year, have demanded that the government stop the ‘healthcare mafia from fleecing patients’ by reining in India’s large, unregulated private health sector.
Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi, Gopendra Tomar, whose 7-year-old son Shaurya died while being treated at Medanta Medicity, said a First Information Report had not been filed despite evidence against the hospital.
‘No action is taken’
“My son has been dead for 90 days. Despite my writing to the Prime Minister’s Office, State and Union Health Ministers and filing a complaint at the Medical Council of India, no action has been taken. Why are we forced to buy medicines from in-house pharmacies, where these hospitals can charge whatever they want? Why has the FIR not been registered? The government subsidized land allotment for Medanta Hospital, yet it continues to charge us exorbitant prices,” said Mr. Tomar, as he broke down while sharing the agonizing experience at Medanta Hospital in Gurugram.
Over the past six months, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) investigated FMRI, Medanta - The Medicity in Gurugram, Max Hospital in New Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh and B.L.K. Super Speciality Hospital in Delhi’s Rajinder Nagar. On Tuesday, it released a report, without naming the hospitals, stating that the private hospitals forced patients to buy non-scheduled drugs from in-house pharmacies after increasing price margins by nearly 2000% in some cases.
Jayant Singh, the father of 7-year-old Adya who died at Fortis Hospital, has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court, demanding that private hospitals be regulated.