Savar hospital ‘held’ body over unpaid bills: family

Authorities at Enam Medical College and Hospital in Savar allegedly collected outstanding bill of Tk 3.20 lakh by holding the body of a deceased for over 24 hours.

Uzzal Halder, brother of the deceased, said his brother Joy Halder (17) was admitted to the hospital on May 16 after being critically injured in an attack by a juvenile gang in Polo Market area of Rajashon.

He died at the hospital on Sunday.

"The hospital authorities did not release the body due to unpaid bills. We begged them to release the body so that we could bury him. We also expressed our helplessness, but to no avail," he added.

He said authorities released the body on Monday evening after they cleared the bill.

On May 16 night, 10 to 12 youths attacked Joy and left him critically injured, according to family members.

He was taken to Enam Medical College Hospital the same night and was receiving treatment at its ICU until his death.

Uzzal Halder said, "In the last 21 days, we spent more than Tk 6 lakh for his treatment. We had to borrow money but were unable to arrange the pending bill of Tk 3.20 lakh."

This correspondent could not reach hospital CEO Dr Anawarul Quader Nazim for comments, despite multiple attempts.

However, Dr Enamur Rahman, owner of the hospital, claimed that the allegation was not true. He said there was some delay with billing and issuing death certificate.

The body was handed over to the family already, he said without elaborating further.

Dr Sayemul Huda, upazila health and family planning officer of Savar, declined to comment over the issue.