Editor,
The hospitals in Shillong were once known as the centres of holistic treatment and patient friendly. However with passage of time, hospitals have shifted from being compassionate to being greedy and business motivated in stark comparison to hospitals located in Guwahati, Vellore, Kolkata etc.
I would like to narrate an incident that happened a few days ago with my relative a senior citizen who was to be transported to Guwahati for specialised medical care wherein as a CGHS beneficiary one is entitled to post-hospitalisation benefits and a hospital should accept whoever is entitled under the CGHS cover.
However it seems that the administrative authorities of Nazareth Hospital when it came to payments and billing under CGHS they have yet to improve instead of making patients run from pillar to post for payments of hospital bills.
Another aspect here is the rude attitude of those security guards manning the parking lot who seem to be ill-trained and as usual the boisterous mindset that they know everything.
The hospital authorities should take a leaf out of how other reputed hospitals outside the State treat and manage patients and visitors which is the reason for their ratings to go higher.
Dominic S. Wankhar
Via e-mail
