In spite of the Delhi Government order instructing hospitals and private diagnostic centres to not charge more than `600 for dengue tests, The Pioneer during its visit to several places found that many private labs continue to flout the order by charging something between `1,500 and `2,200.
The three dengue tests for which the private diagnostic centres are overcharging patients include NS1 antigen test, dengue antibody test and the platelet count test.
With the dengue cases on the rise, two more Delhi residents —Rishabh, a class X student and 14-year-old Ehtesham of Batla House — have succumbed to the deadly disease on Thursday with the death toll going up to 21 by Friday.
Rishabh, 17, of New Seemapuri, succumbed to the vector-borne disease at Max super-speciality hospital in Ghaziabad. His family alleged negligence on part of private hospitals and claimed that they charged exorbitant fees.
It was to stop such “unethical medical” practices that the Government earlier this week had fixed a cap of `600 for the first two tests (NS1 antigen test and dengue antibody test) and `50 for platelet test. But it looks that the order has no impact on some diagnostic centres.
“We have come to know that private hospitals are overcharging for dengue tests. That is why we’ve decided to fix a cap on these tests for the private hospitals and laboratories. Nobody can charge anything beyond this rate,” said Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain.
But some labs near Pusa Road in central Delhi are charging Rs 2,200 for the dengue tests. When this reporter called a diagnostic centre claiming herself to be a patient, a pathologist said, “We will charge Rs 1,600 for NS1 antigen test and Rs 600 for platelet count test.”
Another pathologist at Patel Nagar asked Rs 1,400 for the NS1 antigen test and Rs 200 for platelet count test. Besides, there are many other pathologists in Delhi who are cashing in on dengue scare.
Till date, more than 2,000 people have suffered from the dengue, and 21 people have died. looking at the situation, the Delhi Government has planned to conduct ‘dengue awareness drive’ to educate residents about how to take mosquito breeding preventive measures. For this, the District Task Force’s (DTF) 200 Civil Defence Volunteers (CDVs) will reach every household in west district.
“Over 500 social and Anganwadi workers of 250 schools have been imparted training to work on awareness creation in the last two days,” said a Government official. Health camps will be organised in the areas where situation is alarming, added the official.
Meanwhile, all Government departments, including railways, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), the Public Works Department (PWD) and the Delhi Police have been directed to carry out inspection of their premises to ensure that there was no breeding of dengue mosquitoes.