Bengaluru: On Sunday night, when 85-year-old Jayamma S. from Rajajinagar complained of chest pain, her family rushed her to a private hospital in Rajajinagar where she was diagnosed with a mild heart attack. As the hospital did not have facilities to conduct an angiogram, they requested her relatives to move her to another branch of the hospital. However, when the relatives tried to clear the bill and move Jayamma quickly, they hit a wall.
"When I tried to pay the bill in Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 500 notes, the hospital refused to accept the amount," said her grandson Rajesh N. Although he paid by card before taking his grandmother, who was in a critical condition, to another hospital, Rajesh questions what would happen in case someone without a debit card was in this situation.
"In the next two months, anyone can get stuck in this situation. What if the bill goes to beyond Rs. 5,000? We cannot go running around for cash in ATMs when a patient is in dying condition," he said. He questioned why, when petrol pumps and utilities have been asked to accept the denominations, could hospitals too not be included in the list when a few minutes of delay could lead to a patient's death.
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After several complaints that hospitals were refusing Rs. 500, and Rs. 1000 bills, the Karnataka Health Department issued a circular on Monday saying that no government hospital in the State could refuse a patient for trying to pay in the demonetised bills. In case of any issues, members of the public may contact the Health Department or call 104, the release said.
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