Restoring the elective surgeries in Government and private hospitals across Punjab, the State health and Family Welfare Department has directed all the Civil Surgeons to ensure display of treatment charges of Covid-19 at the entrance of private hospitals to check the menace of overcharging.
The directions were issued by the State Health and Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu asking all the Civil Surgeons to ensure the display board of a sufficiently large size at the entrance of the hospital specifying treatment charges for Covid-19 patients, which should not exceed the capping proposed by the Punjab Government.
“No private hospital can charge more than the notified treatment charges and if anyone is charged more than the Government notified charges, such a person can raise his complaint to the concerned Deputy Commissioner or Civil Surgeon,” the Minister made it clear, adding the State Government has already issued the instructions to District Administrations in this regard.
The Minister said it has been brought to his notice that even after directions issued by the Punjab Government, some hospitals has been overcharging the Covid patients. “Taking notice of such incidents, FIRs have been registered against the private hospitals across the State under Epidemic Diseases Act and Disaster Management Act,” he said.
Appreciating the Civil Surgeons who have taken prompt action on the complaints, the Minister stated that following the FIRs, many private hospitals have refunded the money to Covid-19 patient’s families which have been overcharged for treatment by them.
Sidhu said the Punjab Government has made it clear that no one would be spared who would indulge in such malafide activities. He also assured the family members of Covid-19 patients, who suffered owing to the financial shock in private hospitals, that strict action would be taken against all such hospitals within one month.
Pointing out the declining trend of new Covid cases, the Health Minister added as per the directions of Chief Minister in a recently held Covid review meeting, the Department has allowed elective surgeries in all the Government as well as private health facilities.
Keeping in view of the reducing caseload in the hospitals, Sidhu said for the welfare of the general public, Health Department has also decided to fully restore OPD services in all the government health facilities and has allowed elective surgeries in both private and government health institutions. “But the private health facilities, providing Covid care, are directed to ensure that Level III capacity of hospitals for Covid-19 is not compromised,” he said.