In a selfie-video, she alleged that she was held hostage by the management of a private hospital as she failed to pay the medical bill
Photo used for representational purposes
A government hospital doctor, who has tested positive for coronavirus, released a video clip where she alleged that she was held hostage by the management of a private hospital in Hyderabad as she failed to pay the medical bill.
In a selfie-video that has gone viral on social media on Sunday, the female doctor has accused the hospital of overcharging and said that the hospital asked her to pay Rs 1.15 lakh for a day's treatment.
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"For one day they are charging Rs 1.15 lakh. I could not pay so much. My brother paid Rs.1.5 lakh. We paid Rs 1.9 lakh cumulatively," said the doctor, whose brother and daughter have also tested positive.
In the video, the civil assistant surgeon of state-run Fever Hospital said after testing positive she was treating herself at home. On the midnight of July 1, she experienced shortness of breath and got herself admitted to the private hospital.
"I am a COVID-19 warrior. For one day, they charged me Rs 1.15 lakh. I could not pay so much. I am a diabetic and I'm not getting proper medication here. They are making baseless allegations. I am in trouble. I paid Rs 40,000, but they detained me," the woman said in the video.
"How can we be so cruel to a doctor and a COVID warrior herself and detain her for non-payment of bill," Majlis Bachao Tehreek (MBT) leader Amjedullah Khan in a tweet directed at state Health Minister Eatala Rajender.
Based on the video, a police team visited the hospital. However, they said that they have not received any complaints.
According to a report in Deccan Herald, the authorities of the private hospital have refuted the doctor’s charges as baseless and stated her total bill amount "for almost five days is about Rs 1.5 lakh." She was non-cooperative in treatment and abusive to doctors, other staff, they said, adding that legal action could be taken on her.
Fever Hospital Superintendent K. Shankar said the doctor tested positive during the screening of the staff at the hospital. He said the doctor approached the private hospital without informing them and they could have made better arrangements for her treatment.
Health Department officials said they had taken note of the doctor’s complaint and were making necessary arrangements for the treatment.
The incident occurred amid complaints by many COVID-19 patients that private hospitals were charging them heavily and not following the tariff fixed by the state government.
(With inputs from IANS)
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