West Bengal Health Commission cancels licence of private hospital over medical negligence case

Kolkata, Nov 10 (PTI) The West Bengal Health Commission on Monday cancelled the licence of a private hospital here for failing to comply with its order to pay compensation in a case of alleged medical negligence, a senior official said.

It also barred Genesis Hospital in south Kolkata’s Kasba area from admitting new patients, but allowed treatment of those already under care to continue, he said, adding that the state's Director of Health Services (DHS) was instructed to take immediate steps to cancel the hospital's licence.

"As the hospital failed to comply despite repeated emails and reminders, we decided to cancel its licence. The Director of Health Services has been asked to ensure the order is implemented," chairman of the West Bengal Clinical Establishment Regulatory Commission, Justice Asim Kumar Bandyopadhyay, said.

Last December, a patient had lodged a complaint alleging medical negligence and inflated billing by the hospital, a source in the commission said.

"The commission held hearings on the matter, but no representative from Genesis Hospital appeared on the scheduled dates," he said.

Following the hearing, the commission had imposed a fine of Rs 3,68,889 and directed the hospital to pay the amount as compensation to the complainant's family.

"However, even after 11 months, the payment was not made," he said.

Repeated attempts to contact the hospital's owner, Dr Purnendu Roy, went unanswered.

As of Monday evening, the hospital had not issued any response to the commission's order, another official stated. PTI SCH MNB