Hospital booked for refusing to hand over Covid victim's body to relatives

Bengaluru: The RR Nagara police have registered a case against Pathway Hospital at Channasandra for not releasing the body of a patient on May 27 unless a medical bill for Rs 3.5 lakh was cleared.

The police said that when the patient's relatives asked the hospital authorities to hand over the body to them, they detained one of them in their custody.

The patient's family initially paid Rs 4.5 lakh.

The complainant, Geetha, aged 39, who lodged the complaint, said, "My husband's brother Lakshmi Narayana tested Covid positive after undergoing a rapid antigen test. On May 17, around 4.30 pm, he was admitted to Pathway Hospital located at Channasandra, Kengeri-Uttarahalli Main Road. He passed away at around 7 pm on May 27. Around 9.30pm, my husband's brother Vinay, my husband Mahesh and my mother-in-law Nagamma, had paid Rs 4.5 lakh. But the hospital doctors and the administrative staff refused to hand over the body and demanded the payment of the remaining Rs 3.67 lakh. When we informed them that we did not have any money, the hospital staff abused us for admitting our relative in their hospital without having enough money. They threatened us with dire actions if we did not pay the money and took my husband's brother Vinay as a hostage."

In her complaint she further stated that despite the government's order to not pressure people to pay "pending" bills after death of a patient, the hospital doctors and staff did not follow it. "We request you to take suitable action against the doctors and administrative staff of Pathway Hospital and get the deceased person's body from the hospital," Geetha told the police.

The government in a circular has already stated that no hospitals can keep the body over unpaid bills.