The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) on Thursday directed a private hospital in southern Kolkata to refund treatment charges of around Rs 3.68 lakh to a patient after the commission found negligence in his treatment.

The WBCERC has also urged the state health department to conduct an inquiry to probe the matter.

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Pranab Ghosh was admitted to the Genesis Hospital in the Kasba area on 26 April for gall bladder surgery under a treatment package of Rs 80,000, initially. He was scheduled for discharge from the hospital on 28 April but it was deferred by one more day after he developed some complications. He was discharged on 29 April.

Following a complaint lodged with the WBCERC by the patient, the commission along with its panel of expert doctors held a hearing with complainant and representatives of the hospital.

“Our doctors felt that the patient’s condition was in such a state that he should not have been discharged from the hospital. As a result, he had to take admissions to the hospital repeatedly. He was admitted to the Genesis Hospital for five times, once at Apollo and three times at Liver Foundation since April. The gentleman has been suffering for the past four to five months. Rather, the Genesis Hospital has not taken the responsibility,” Justice Asim Banerjee, WBCERC chairman and retired judge of the Calcutta High Court, told reporters this evening.

“Genesis has been charging bills for his admissions during the second, third and fourth times. During the fifth time, the patient party refused to pay the bills saying that they don’t have money and they took him to their residence from the hospital. The Apollo hospital has also charged around Rs 9 lakh from the patient. It’s creating pressure on the patient to pay the dues. Ultimately, the patient has been cured by the grace of God by the Liver Foundation after admissions to the hospital three times,” Justice Banerjee said.