Private hospitals extract ‘blood money’ from patients

by S. Selvakumar

Several private hospitals fleece patients by charging Rs. 20,000 per pint of blood after obtaining it free from the Narahenpita blood bank. The Health Ministry has received several complaints in this connection.

Deputy Minister of Health Lalith Dissanayake told the Sunday Observer that although his Ministry was aware of the racket, it could not take any action since these hospitals do not specify in their receipts that they had charged a fee for blood. ”They may account the charge for blood for some other service provided to patients,” he said.

He said if patients could prove that they had been charged for blood transfusion, the Ministry would take stern action against such errant private hospitals. However, since these hospitals conveniently avoid mentioning blood charges in the receipts issued, action could not be taken against them, Dissanayake said.

Health Ministry sources said that unlike earlier when there were only a handful of private hospitals, this sort of “blood money” was not charged and this became rampant only when many nursing homes with modern facilities were set up.

The sources said that some nursing homes charge exorbitant rates, not only for blood, but also for several other services and added that all those who seek admission to private hospitals are not super rich and even the poor do so after borrowing or pawning their jewellery.

This was obvious since some pawn shops had been opened close to private hospitals, they said.