Hospitals cannot hold a patient ‘hostage’ for outstanding dues

April 27, 2017

Hospitals cannot hold patients back to get money for unpaid bills, the Delhi High Court directed a leading private hospital for allegedly withholding custody of a patient over outstanding dues. & quot Even if dues are outstanding, custody of patients cannot be withheld to extract money towards unpaid bills (of the hospital). We condemn this practice,& quot the court told Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. The court directed the hospital to prepare the discharge summary of the patient and allowed his son, the petitioner, to remove his father from the hospital. The ruling came in a plea moved by the son of the patient who was admitted in the hospital for treatment in February. The patient's son had alleged that the hospital was holding his father hostage to extract money from him towards outstanding dues of a disputed amount of over Rs 13 lakh. He also alleged that the hospital was not giving proper treatment to his father and when he decided to take him away, they did not allow him to do so. The hospital opposed the petitioner's contentions and claimed that he had raised the grievance as the patient was shifted to the general ward from private ward due to non-payment of dues. Hospital said that the petitioner had less than one-third of the total amount due. Despite the outstanding dues, a surgery was carried out on the patient on April 21 after being shifted to the general ward, the hospital said. The petitioner alleged that the surgery was carried out after he had lodged a police complaint on April 20.