The state clinical establishment regulatory commission will involve the transport department for a resolution to the persistent problem of patients being overcharged by ambulance operators, the chairperson of the panel said on Wednesday.
Retired judge Ashim Banerjee, chairperson of the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission, said for now patients or their families should approach the commission if they are charged more than the rates set through an advisory issued in October 2020.
“Patients can approach the police, too,” Banerjee said.
The rates fixed by the commission are Rs 25 per kilometer for an air-conditioned ambulance and Rs 20 per kilometer for a non-AC ambulance. Oxygen service can be charged at Rs 300 per hour.
The advisory mentioned that the maximum charge for ferrying patients in an ambulance should not cross Rs 3,000 “within the municipal limits of Calcutta and suburbs”.
“We will discuss with the state transport department and try to find a solution to the problem of overcharging by ambulances,” Banerjee said.
Overcharging by ambulance operators is a common problem and families of patients often have to give in to their demands.
Senior officials of two private hospitals in the city said the hospitals owned only a few ambulances. The rest are run by various operators.
“The number of ambulances owned by the corporate hospitals is inadequate, which is why patients often have to depend on ambulances owned by other private operators,” said an official of a private hospital.
“But we ask these operators to provide a copy of the bill they give to patients’ families. This is done to keep a tab on how much they are charging.”
Members of the commission held a meeting with the chief secretary of the Bengal government on Wednesday, where the matter came up for discussion.
“If we receive any complaint of overcharging, we will hear the complaint and take appropriate action against wrongdoers,” Banerjee said.
He said they also discussed how Swasthya Sathi can be made more “patient-friendly” and “hassle-free”. The commission’s members will soon visit Bankura, Murshidabad and Hooghly districts
. “We will organise awareness campaigns in Murshidabad on how to reduce deaths of pregnant mothers,” Banerjee said.
YOGA DAY
A three-day national yoga competition with participants from across the country and the UAE, organised by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), ended on Wednesday at South City International School. Gerry Arathoon, chief executive and secretary, CISCE, was the chief guest at the prize distribution ceremony of the CISCE National Pre-Yoga Olympiad 2023. “The CISCE, New Delhi, earlier was only engaged in academics, preparing the syllabus, preparing question papers and conducting exams. But today, it is a different story altogether. Apart from academics, we are now conducting sports and games. From 2018... we have begun conducting sports and games. We are proud of all our schools.... Our students excel not only in academics but also in sports and games. The reason behind this is the wonderful schools that are being affiliated with the CISCE,” he said. Sixteen students from over 200 participants were awarded trophies and certificates. They have qualified for the NCERT Yoga Olympiad to be held in June.
