Plea to stop looting by pvt, corporate hospitals

Hyderabad: The Congress party on Monday demanded the Telangana Government to constitute a regulatory authority to control and monitor the functioning of private and corporate hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and diagnostic centers across the Telangana State.

Led by Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) Minorities Department Chairman Shaik Abdullah Sohail, a delegation of Congress leaders met Minister for Medical, Health & Family Welfare Eatala Rajender at his residence and submitted a representation. They referred to Health Minister's recent statement wherein he accused some private hospitals of fleecing the patients by spreading the fear of Dengue with the sole intention of making profits.

"While we don't endorse your contention that there are no Dengue cases, we agree that almost all corporate hospitals are extorting huge money from poor patients and their families. It is nothing but organised loot happening without any fear of law where an entire family is getting robbed in the name of treatment," the Congress leaders said in their representation.

Speaking to mediapersons later, Abdullah Sohail said that the Congress delegation apprised the Health Minister of how corporate and private hospitals were taking advantage of the absence of a mechanism to monitor their activities.

"There is no one to crosscheck the treatment being given to patients and the charges being collected from them. Right from registration fee to the complicated surgical procedures, everything is highly expensive and no one has the authority to question them.

There are several cases wherein hospitals declared the death after several hours or even days after the patients were dead just to increase the billing," he said. Abdullah Sohail said that the Health Minister has given an assurance that he would look into our request and take appropriate action.