SHOCKER! PMC Official’s Relative Dies At Poona Hospital; Family Alleges 8-Hour Delay In Releasing Body Due To Billing Issues

A patient undergoing treatment under the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) Urban Poor Scheme at Poona Hospital reportedly passed away at around 1:30am on Friday. However, the family alleged that the hospital delayed handing over the body for nearly eight hours, stating that billing under the scheme could only be processed after 8:30am.

Despite the family being willing to settle the bill immediately, the hospital refused to release the body until all formalities were completed. It was only around 9:30am that the deceased’s body was handed over. When the bill was finally settled, the family was informed that they were eligible for a refund of approximately ₹7,000. The family claims that they had to face various hassles to take the body.

The grieving family has lodged a complaint with the PMC Grievance Redressal Cell and submitted a written complaint to the Chief Health Officer of PMC.

Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Nilesh Mahajan, a relative of the deceased and also an official of PMC's fire department, said, "The hospital staff were very rude and insensitive. They did not hand over the body to us and said that the body could be given only when they had settled the bills, and thus, we waited for eight hours to cremate the body. Even in the morning, at around 8:30, when we went to take the body, they made us run from one department to another, and finally, after taking a few calls, the body was handed over to us. We were ready to pay the bills, and nobody was there to collect. They withheld the body for eight hours. The administration should have someone to clear the bills 24X7. This has caused a lot of inconvenience to us, and we demand action against the hospital’s insensitive and bureaucratic handling of the situation and hope that appropriate measures will be taken to prevent such incidents in the future."

The hospital administration is yet to respond to FPJ's queries.

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