E-Paper
Mohali: Ordering needless tests costs Max Hospital ₹5 lakh
Mohali District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission fined for making a city resident undergo a slew of unnecessary heart tests to issue a medical fitness certificate for immigration to Canada
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Mohali, on Thursday held Max Super Specialty Hospital, Phase 6, guilty of unfair trade practice by carrying out unnecessary tests on an Aerocity resident to issue a medical fitness certificate for immigration to Canada.
Pulling up the hospital for causing harassment and mental agony to the complainant, Nishan Singh Kahlon, the commission ordered it to pay the latter a compensation of ₹5 lakh.
In October 2020, Kahlon, 64, had submitted before the commission that he and his wife were planning to permanently move to Canada, where their son was already settled. For this, they needed medical fitness certificates from Max Hospital, which was empanelled with the Canadian Embassy.
Kahlon stated that after he was examined by Dr Sumit Khetarpal, who also ordered some tests, he was declared fit.
But after he shared that he had undergone coronary angioplasty at Fortis Hospital, Mohali, in 2003, Dr Khetarpal referred him to Dr TP Singh for a cardiology opinion, even though he clarified that he no longer had any symptoms of heart disease and had also been regularly getting medical check-ups done from a specialist doctor.
Despite his pleas, Dr Singh advised that he get ECG and ECHO tests done. After the tests delivered normal results, the doctor asked him to also get a TMT test done. All these examinations cost him ₹5,301.
Kahlon alleged that even though all test reports were normal, Dr Singh struck his own remarks of sending the patient file back to the immigration department and asked him to undergo a thallium stress test, which would cost another ₹13,725.
After the test, a mild problem in the heart was reported and he was advised to undergo coronary angiography and deposit fee for the test, which the complainant refused.
On this, without his consent, Dr Singh wrote back to the Canadian Embassy that coronary angiography is required in the case, Kahlon submitted.
He added that due to the illegal and mala fide act of Dr Singh, he sought second opinion from a Fortis Hospital cardiologist, who remarked: “No further cardiac evaluation is required at this time in view of no symptoms related to CAD. Medically fit to pursuing long-distance air travel.”
Another opinion taken from Rajindra Hospital in Patiala also detected no heart issues, he informed the commission.
The complainant alleged that while the medical examination fee fixed by the Canadian Embassy was ₹6,300, including charges for physical consultation, blood test, urine test and chest X-ray, due to the unnecessary tests ordered by Dr Singh, he had to pay another ₹1,200 for his consultation and ₹5,301 as ECG, ECHO and TMT test charges.
In its response, Max Hospital responded that the complainant had no cause of action to file the complaint. It claimed that no case of medical negligence or malpractice, as alleged by the complainant, was made out against the hospital. Further, the hospital termed the complaint false and baseless, and meant to garner cheap publicity and extract unlawful money from the hospital.
It also submitted that the action of hospital staff in treating the complainant to the best of their ability and skills was strictly under medical procedure standards.
However, ruling in the complainant’s favour, commission president Sanjiv Dutt Sharma ordered the hospital to pay a compensation of ₹5 lakh. “The commission is of the view that all hospital authorities adopted unfair trade practice by giving false reports about the ailment of the complainant... who was subjected to physical discomfort, mental harassment and agony,” the commission held.
When contacted, a spokesperson of Max Hospital said they had not received the order yet and will not be able to comment on it.
