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Hospital licence to be suspended if bodies held hostage for unpaid dues: Himanta
Sarma said the decision was initiated following complaints that some private hospitals hold the bodies as ‘hostage’ till family members pay the charges incurred on their treatment
GUWAHATI: The Assam cabinet on Thursday approved action against private hospitals including fines and suspension of license in the state if they hold back bodies of deceased patients over non-payment of dues by family members.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the decision was initiated following complaints that some private hospitals hold the bodies as ‘hostage’ till family members pay the charges incurred on their treatment. The move will be implemented from August 1.
“Today the Assam cabinet has taken a very important decision. Often we hear complaints that various nursing homes have kept the body of a deceased as mortgage for 3-4 days unless the relatives pay the pending dues. This is against human dignity. You can’t hold a body as a hostage,” Sarma said.
“The state cabinet has decided that if any nursing home or hospital does that, their license will be suspended for three to six months and they will be fined ₹5 lakh. In case of repeat offence, their license can be cancelled forever,” he added.
The chief minister said if private hospitals hold bodies for over 4 hours for non-payment of dues, relatives of the patient can file complaints with the local police station who will initiate action.
Sarma said that the cabinet has also approved a scheme called Gaja Mitra to try to reduce instances of human-elephant conflict in the state. Under the scheme, elephant habitats will be created at 80 hotspots where plants which are fodder for the pachyderms will be planted to ensure that they don’t raid paddy fields or enter human habitations in search of food.
“We will also create rapid response teams who will try to divert the routes of elephants that enter villages by using non-lethal means. Plants like bamboo and napier grass, which are important food sources of elephants, will be planted in these areas,” he said, adding that more details of the scheme will be announced later by the forest department.
