Karnataka - Raichur   

Compensation ordered for deficiency in service

Staff Correspondent

District Consumer Redressal Forum holds hospital, pharmacy guilty

Raichur: The Raichur District Consumer Redressal Forum has directed Umapathy Panyal, Chief Executive Officer of the Raiv Gandhi Super-speciality Hospital, and Vasu Reddy, Supervisor of the Apollo Pharmacy of the hospital, to pay a compensation of Rs. 10,000 to Suryanarayana for deficiency of service and also refund Rs. 139.80 collected in excess for medicine.

The forum has also directed them to initiate action to rectify the faults found in their computerised price list at the hospital and display the corrected price list of medicines on the notice board for public view.

Facts

In August last, Mr. Suryanarayana approached a specialist at the hospital with symptoms of stomach pain.

After examining the patient, the doctor prescribed some medicine and asked him to purchase it at the pharmacy in the hospital.

Mr. Suryanarayana purchased the prescribed medicines from Apollo Pharmacy. But he found that the pharmacy had charged him extra for a strip of 20 capsules of Thyronorm (50 mg).

Apollo Pharmacy had collected Rs. 156 from him instead of the market retail price of Rs. 16.20 for the strip of capsules.

Notice

In September last, he served a legal notice on the hospital and the pharmacy for collecting excess amount from him for the capsules and asked them to refund the difference amount.

Complaint

Later, he filed a complaint with the forum seeking justice when there was no response to his legal notice.

In responding to the complaint, the forum issued a notice to the hospital and the pharmacy seeking an explanation.

However, the hospital and the pharmacy prayed for dismissing the complaint saying that they collected the money based on their computerised price list.

After hearing the arguments of the complainant, the chairman of the consumer forum, N.H. Savalgi, directed the hospital and the pharmacy to pay compensation and refund the excess amount collected from the complainant.

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