Complaint Details

Status	:	Closed
Complaint No	:	0057076/2015
Category	:	Health
Date	:	26-12-2015
Subject Line	:	Harassment of senior citizen
Complainant	:	Sohini Bhattacharya
Address	:	C9 Rabindrapally, Flat 3B, Brahmapur
Complainee	:	Apollo Clinic, Bansdroni (Garia)
Address	:

Complaint Details
My mother, Jhulan Bhattacharya, a senior citizen, had an IVP appointment at Apollo Clinic, Bansdroni, for the morning of Dec 23, 2015. But Apollo failed to keep the appointment, thus harassing the patient.
The unprofessionalism began right at the time of booking the appointment when she was given conflicting instructions for preparations for the IVP. Finally, she was instructed to have laxatives for two consecutive days before the IVP, which she did. But the night before the IVP, at 9pm on December 22, my mother received a call from the clinic saying the appointment had to be cancelled as the clinic would remain closed on December 25 for Christmas. When we pointed out that the appointment was not for Christmas day but the day before, we were told that in case the patient needed to go back for the IVP a second day, that would not be possible. They were unable to explain why one would have to go back on the second day. My mother has had an IVP before at another clinic and it was all done in one day. We requested them not to defer the test as my mother had already been on laxatives on the clinic's advice for two days and repeating the procedure would be inconvenient, especially for a senior citizen. After much pleading and argument, they agreed to keep the appointment. My mother was asked to report at the clinic at 8.30am on December 24.
But the harassment did not end there. At 7.45am on the day of the appointment, my mother received another call from the clinic, once again cancelling the appointment. At this point, I lost my cool and told the Apollo employee that I would take the clinic to consumer court if they did not conduct the test. Not only did they refuse to budge but even refused to accept that we had been assured the night before that the appointment would not be cancelled. After some time the line was transferred to the technician who refused to listen to me and asked me to go to the clinic and speak to the management. I demanded to speak to someone from the management over phone but the line was disconnected. For the next 15 minutes, I tried in vain to call back at the number and also two other landlines at Apollo but no one picked up the phone. I had get the test done at another clinic. I am appalled at the attitude and irresponsible behaviour on part of Apollo. A healthcare facility cannot afford to operate like this. How can it cancel an appointment at the last moment just because it has suddenly decided to declare a holiday for Christmas? And that too for a test that requires at least two days of preparation?
But then this is perhaps not surprising. I had encountered similar negligence at the same clinic two years ago on December 22, 2013. My mother-in-law Mina Ray had undergone an ECG at the clinic but due to an error the print had been lost. But the clinic never bothered to inform us about the glitch. Instead, when we went to collect the report, we were told that the ECG had not been done! It's only after I lodged a complaint that the clinic owned up to its mistake. But as it turns out, that was no stray mistake. Two years on, the clinic's negligent handling of cases has not changed. It is shameful for a healthcare facility to act in such a manner.

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