A private hospital in Greater Noida is facing scrutiny following allegations that it charged the parents of a seven-year-old boy ₹45,000 for an eye surgery that was never conducted.
Police said that the complaint has been forwarded to Gautam Budh Nagar’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for a detailed investigation.
The boy’s father, Nitin Bhati, reported that Anand Spectrum Hospital in Greater Noida’s Gamma 1 area collected ₹45,000 from him for a supposed surgical procedure on his son’s left eye, which he alleges was never performed.
Bhati explained that he had taken his son to the hospital on Monday after the boy experienced persistent watering in his left eye. “The hospital informed us that a foreign particle was lodged in his eye and would require surgical removal. We paid ₹45,000 on Monday, and after the procedure, they showed me a photo of a small metal-like object, which they claimed had been removed from my son’s eye,” said Bhati, who works as a property dealer.
However, Bhati discovered the alleged fraud during a follow-up visit to a different hospital, where a doctor informed him that no surgery had been performed on either eye. The family also noted that a bandage had been placed on the boy’s right eye, even though he had reported discomfort in his left eye. Following these findings, police ordered an investigation into the hospital.
“A complaint has been filed by a Greater Noida family, alleging that a private hospital charged them ₹45,000 for a surgery that was not conducted. The case has been referred to the CMO for further investigation,” said Vidyut Goyal, Station House Officer at Beta 2 police station.
According to Bhati, his son has been experiencing nausea and other symptoms, which the family suspects may be due to anesthesia, despite no surgery having been performed.
“After we returned home, my son mentioned that he still had discomfort in his left eye, despite the bandage being on his right eye, which had been fine. During a follow-up visit to another specialist, we learned that no surgery had actually been performed on either eye,” Bhati explained.
The family expressed frustration that their complaint was initially not accepted by the police and was instead directed to the CMO for evaluation by an expert panel. “When we went to file a complaint, the police told us that it first needed to be reviewed by the CMO. We want the hospital closed to prevent others from suffering a similar experience, and we demand a full refund for the distress we endured,” Bhati said.
Dr. Sunil Sharma, the CMO, confirmed that the case would be thoroughly investigated.
Attempts to contact Dr. Anand Verma, the owner of Anand Spectrum Hospital, went unanswered. A hospital representative, speaking anonymously, denied the allegations, calling them “baseless.” The representative attributed the incident to a nurse’s error, who “mistakenly placed the bandage on the wrong eye,” while maintaining that the treatment had been correctly conducted on the affected eye. The hospital encouraged the family to seek further examination at a higher medical facility to verify that a procedure had indeed been performed, adding that they were open to accepting any findings to the contrary.
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