The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has permitted a petitioner to submit a malpractice complaint against NTC Hospital here and directed the Tamil Nadu Medical Council to look into the complaint after it was said the hospital had charged in excess.
The court was hearing a petition filed by one Nehru from Madurai who along with his wife Vasuki approached the NTC Hospital for treatment, fearing they had been affected by COVID-19. The hospital charged them ₹8 lakh for treatment.
After the petitioner had made the payment, they were admitted to the hospital on July 8. The results for COVID-19 turned out to be negative on July 10 and they were discharged. However, they were billed ₹1.05 lakh and did not receive a refund. The hospital on their part said they had only received ₹3 lakh from the petitioner and had returned the money after deducting the charges. Under these circumstances, another petition was filed against the same hospital alleging excess charges.
Justice G.R. Swaminathan permitted the petitioner Nehru to submit a complaint to the Tamil Nadu Medical Council which shall inquire and take appropriate action on merits within a period of 16 weeks.
