PHCC threatens to seal Lahore’s private hospitals not reducing rates

The Punjab Healthcare Commission on Thursday sent a notice to eight private hospitals in Lahore for defying the commission’s directives to reduce their price rates amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The hospitals have been given 24 hours to bring down their rates to the ones issued in February and put up the charges on their respective websites. If they do not comply, the hospitals will be sealed, the commission warned.

The notice was served to eight private hospitals: Begum Akhtar Rukhsana Memorial Trust, Bahria International Hospital, Chaudhry Muhammad Akram Teaching and Research Hospital, Surgimed Hospital, Fatima Memorial Hospital, Lahore Care Hospital, Hameed Latif Hospital and Central Park Teaching Hospital.

The hospitals had not put up their rates online for February 2020 against the healthcare commission’s orders.

They also did not bring down the charges for High Dependency Units, ventilators or Actemra injection, all of which are necessary for COVID-19 treatment. The PHCC had earlier contacted the administration of these hospitals and sent a notice after their refusal to comply.

The Punjab Healthcare Commission had taken notice of the increasingly high rates of private hospitals on Tuesday.