Fertility centre in Siliguri asked to return Rs 1.81L for charging patient inappropriately

MP  |  18 Oct 2022 |  KOLKATA: The West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission (WBCERC) on Monday directed New Life Fertility Centre in Siliguri to return Rs 1.81 lakh to one Sandip Jha, who was inappropriately charged for the treatment of his wife. 

WBCERC Chairperson Justice (retired) Ashim Banerjee said that Jha took his wife to the New Life Fertility Centre, a local IVF clinic in Siliguri for IVF treatment. 

During initial agreement Jha was told that the cost of treatment would be around Rs 65,000. 

There were irregularities in the agreement and the patient's husband did not properly go through it. The IVF clinic eventually charged Rs 3.21 lakh on the patient. During the hearing the WBCER sought explanation from the IVF clinic. 

The explanations given by the clinic did not appear convincing enough to the commission. It has therefore asked the clinic to refund Rs 1.81 lakh as the patient was charged in excess. 

In another development, the WBCERC has decided to send an inspection team to the Institute of Reproductive Medicine, one of the oldest IVF clinics in the state to find out its functioning as a woman and her new born baby died soon after the delivery. The clinic is entitled to conduct IVF treatment and delivery. 

But in the present case they carried out non-IVF delivery on the patient. A IVF clinic is not authorized to conduct normal delivery, said WBCERC Chairman Justice (retired) Ashim Banerjee. "We will send a team which will look into these aspects. We have also asked the patient's husband to go to the medical council," Banerjee said. 

The Commission has also directed Mother Nursing Home in Madhyamgram to return Rs 13,000 as it had charged a patient despite having been a Swasthy Sathi patient. 

The patient was allegedly kept for three extra days after the bill was settled by Swasthya Sathi. The nursing home charged the patient in cash for the extra period.

http://www.millenniumpost.in/kolkata/fertility-centre-in-siliguri-asked-to-return-rs-181l-for-charging-patient-inappropriately-496263