Following a petition alleging that a private hospital in Perumanallur had discharged a COVID-19 patient in a critical condition and collected over ₹19 lakh as treatment fees from the patient’s relatives, the Joint Director of Medical and Rural Health Services of Tiruppur district issued a notice demanding an explanation for the alleged lapses.
In a letter on Tuesday, Joint Director of Medical and Rural Health Services G. Shanthi ordered the hospital located on Kovai Main Road in Perumanallur, near Avinashi, to not admit any new COVID-19 patients till further orders from the district administration and to provide treatment for the existing patients “without giving room for any complaints.”
The petition submitted to District Collector K. Vijayakarthikeyan on Monday alleged that the 62-year-old COVID-19 patient was discharged on May 24 by the private hospital in Perumanallur and died the next day due to lack of availability of non-invasive ventilation treatment in other hospitals.
Dr. Shanthi, who is also the District Appropriate Authority under the Tamil Nadu Clinical Establishment Act, 2018, identified four lapses on the part of the hospital as per the complaint petition namely negligence of bounded duty, receiving ₹19.05 lakh as treatment charges in violation of government order, charging ₹40,000 per vial of Remdesivir against the guidelines of State government and not issuing a discharge summary for the patient.
The hospital administration was directed to explain within three days why its registration should not be cancelled under TNCEA and to withdraw from the empanelled list to treat COVID-19 patients, failing which further action will be initiated “based on the records available,” Dr. Shanthi wrote.
