The Krishna district administration has revoked the recognition previously given to Ramesh Hospitals in Vijayawada to treat COVID-19 patients. Cancelling the previous orders, District Collector Md Imtiaz stated in his order that the hospital authorities had not taken necessary precautions while operating a COVID Care Centre at Hotel Swarna Palace, where a fire accident took place on August 9 killing 10 people.
The collector stated that based on the preliminary report from a five-member committee — constituted by the government to probe the fire accident — it was found that the hospital authorities had not taken enough precautions. The collector’s orders also said that the hospital authorities were found charging patients with much higher rates than the government caps of COVID-19 treatment prices.
Ramesh Hospitals had previously been authorised as a Category A hospital, and was allowed to exclusively treat COVID-19 patients.
The District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) has also issued a notice to the Managing Director of Ramesh Hospitals, Dr Ramesh, to appear at the DMHO’s office on August 30 and give an answer in writing to the charges laid on the management, and also surrender the hospital’s certificate of registration and other papers in their possession which permit them to provide medical services.
The charges mentioned in the DMHO’s notice include not displaying the rates charged for various services by the hospital at their reception counter, collecting exorbitant fees by exceeding the state government’s price cap, and admitting COVID-19 patients to Metropolitan Hotel and M5 Hotel without obtaining permission from district authorities.
However, the DMHO’s notice does not mention any charges directly related to the fire accident at Hotel Swarna Palace. On the day of the accident, the 20 rescued patients were moved by the hospital staff to other private hotels in the city like M5, or admitted to Ramesh Hospitals. The Managing Director of the hospital Dr Ramesh had previously stated that permissions had been obtained from district authorities to run the COVID Care Centre at Hotel Swarna Palace.
Watch: Fire accident at a COVID Care Centre in Vijayawada