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Released, given six months to pay bill
Indian hospital detains Guyanese patients …
Chennai: Ten Guyanese children who underwent cardiac surgery at a private hospital in Chennai, India, and were detained for some 48 hours over the non-payment of bills, were allowed to return home, yesterday, after the Kids First Fund, under the charge of Varshnie Singh who took them there, agreed to pay the money over a six-month period, a hospital official said.
Varshnie Singh
Singh, who made a vain bid to take the children on Friday, confirmed that a settlement has been reached and they would leave either on Saturday or Sunday depending on availability of air tickets.
Before reaching Guyana, the children would visit London for a fund raising event, she said.
Speaking to reporters in India, K.M. Cherian, the chairman of Frontier Lifeline Hospital, said, “On the assurance from the NGO to settle the dues in six months time, the children have been permitted to go.”
The dues add up to nearly US$90,000, he said.
Dr. Cherian had earlier said that the patients would not be released.
He said the patients had paid the money to the Guyanese NGO, but the latter had not forwarded the payments to the hospital.
“We have treated these children earlier also and last two times we faced some problem with them regarding payment,” said Dr Soma Guha Chakurta.
Early this month, the children were taken to the hospital, which specialises in cardiac surgery, by NGO Kids First Fund.
The children were operated upon and were set to return home Friday, when the hospital detained them for non-payment of bills. Kids First Fund, under the charge of former First Lady Varshnie Singh, has been taking children for heart surgeries for the past four years to the hospital.
According to Singh, the past practice has been to settle the dues after returning to Guyana.
“We have come to an agreement. We will be clearing the bills in the next six months through fund raising activities.
The children will be discharged today (Saturday) and we are working with Air India to get a flight to fly out tonight (Saturday night),” says former First Lady of Guyana and co-ordinator of the Kid’s First, Varshnie Singh.
On Friday evening, Singh told reporters in India that the hospital had changed the payment system and the children were detained at the institute.
Hospital officials, however, maintained that the system was changed after the NGO defaulted on the payment last time.
“There was a big misunderstanding. May be my absence caused it but our relationship is still intact. What happened was unfortunate,” says Dr K.M. Cherian, expressing disappointment over what happened at the hospital.
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