Fortis’ greed held body of a BPL family’s baby over Rs 3,500

By NewsGram Staff-Writer

Displaying an utter act of inhumanity, Fortis Hospital in Vasant Kunj held the body of a 17-day old baby over a mere due of Rs 3,500. The mournful parents of the deceased child belong to below poverty line (BPL) category. Later, the body was released after an intervention by a local MLA. He said the treatment should have been free of cost to the BPL family.

Father of the child Sandeep, who works as a driver in Vasant Kunj explained, "We had already paid Rs 20,000 as security deposit at the time of admission in the hospital. I have already lost four children and this fifth new born was suffering from a heart disease by birth." The child was rushed to Fortis in an emergency when he stopped breathing after crying. Shortly, he was declared dead by the hospital authorities. He was under treatment at AIIMS.

Later, the hospital denied giving body to the family until they cleared the dues. Sandeep told that he somehow arranged the security deposit amount and could not afford anything more. He also explained about him being a BPL beneficiary, but the hospital denied any help. After a round of argument, Sandeep stiffly denied paying a single penny and demanded an explanation for not treating them accordingly.

Fortis Hospital in its statement scrapped all the charges saying that the body was handed over to the family well on time. They also denied levying any charges from the parents and said the treatment was done properly under BPL policies.