Fortis Hospitals & Quality of Care – You decide

Date of incident : 26th & 28th April, 2014

Place : Fortis Hospital, Vashi , Navi Mumbai 

A patient meets a gastroentologist for a consultation at the above mentioned hospital  . The patient hands over all the reports to the doctor ( including the report, which clearly states that the patient is a diabetic ). The Patient is advised to undergo a colonoscopy and come empty stomach / fasting for 17 hours .. I wonder if a diabetic would be fit to stand after  17 hours of fasting ? This is a clear case of medical negligence where a patient can even slip into hypoglycaemia …. but the doctors at Fortis are not even bothered about this . There is a question mark on the protocols and SOPs followed in such big hospitals 

The patient had to inform the doctor about this lapse and also the facility director , then the same was ‘noted’. When the patient came for the procedure , no one even checked his sugar,  despite it being reported that the patient is a diabetic and is on medication ! The quality of care Fortis is providing to its patients is a serious question mark !

The patient hears another patient’s relative in ICU telling the nurse ;

1. ‘You are such a big hospital and you don’t even have a silicon RT ( Rice tube)’ ? The patients relative had to buy the consumables and provide the hospital as they were not available in the hospital . We heard about these in government hospitals , but this is a first hand account of what happens in Fortis Hospital !

2. A patient was questioning the nurse that ‘Why was he charged Rs.300 more for the same procedure done last week’ and the nurse had no convincing reply for him … Billing systems of this hospital have been questioned many times by patients. My family had pointed such cases in the past and the ‘wrongly charged’ amount was later ‘adjusted’ .  

3. A patient was given another patients file … Privacy of patients is not a worry in this hospital 

4. Patients is charged Rs.50 donation towards Fortis Foundation without being asked whether s/he would like to donate ? When questioned , the cashier says ‘Sorry’ !  Charity or loot by Fortis Healthcare !  Such companies are a shame in the name of CSR ( Corporate Social Responsibility ). 

And , at the very entrance, one notices the big display of NABH accreditation. The advertisement mentions that Fortis Hospital is the 7th hospital in Mumbai to be ‘awarded’ this accreditation ! 

Now certifications are becoming marketing tools, and it is high time that these hospitals declare their ‘success and failure rates’ for all admissions and OPDs . Else, they make treatment worse than the disease, and increase the trust deficit between the patient , doctor and the treatment offered 

Rajendra Pratap Gupta 

President

Disease Management Association of India.

http://www.dmai.org.in