Collector orders probe

District Collector Ch. Vijaya Mohan on Sunday ordered a probe into the allegations that the doctors of Omni Hospitals in Kurnool had treated a woman who was already dead and collected Rs. 1.1 lakh from her relatives towards the bill.

The Collector, along with District Medical and Health Officer U. Raja Subba Rao and Kurnool Revenue Divisional Officer L. Raghu Babu, visited the hospital at Budhawarapet and inquired about the incident following the complaint filed by A. Chennaiah of Chintakommadinne in Allagadda mandal that his sister Suvarthamma, who was injured in a road accident, was allegedly treated after her death.

The woman, who was married to Yesop of Kullur in Rajupalem mandal in Kadapa district, has a six-month-old girl. The Collector spoke to Mr. Chennaiah, who was in Kullur, over telephone from the hospital.

He said that a five-member committee headed by Joint Collector C. Harikiran would conduct the probe.

Mr. Chennaiah told the Collector that his sister and brother-in-law, fell off their motorcycle. An injured Suvarthamma was admitted to the ICU in Omni Hospitals on August 16.

Doctors Balaji Naik, Asif Jafri and Roop Kumar treated Sivarthamma for three days and shifted her to the general ward stating that she was recovering.

Mr. Chennaiah said that that he had noticed changes in Suvarthamma’s eyes and limbs on August 24 night and informed the nurses, who called a doctor in, but she died before the doctor arrived. But, the doctor took the already dead Suvarthamma into the ICU.

“Claiming that Suvarthamma was undergoing treatment for three days, the doctors informed about her death at 2 p.m. on August 25. By then, the hospital staff had collected Rs. 1.1 lakh from me towards the hospital bill,” Mr. Chennaiah said.

When he questioned the doctors, the latter said that Chennaiah died due to a heart ailment. Meanwhile, the Collector has directed the DM&HO to take possession of the original case sheets and records pertaining to Suvarthamma’s treatment and submit a preliminary report by Sunday night.

A committee headed by Joint Collector would inquire about the issue and submit a report within a week, Mr. Vijaya Mohan said.

Mr. Vijaya Mohan further directed Superintendent of Police A. Ravikrishna to inquire as to why no FIR was filed in the accident case.

The district administration would soon launch a drive to verify the facilities and treatment modes in all the private hospitals, the Collector added.

The hospital authorities were not available for comment.

Hospital collected Rs. 1.1 lakh towards bill even after the death of patient, allege kin

Five-member committee headed by Joint Collector will conduct the probe