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‘Rs 36K for neuro patients, free for those treated by Ortho dept': Safdarjung saw vast differences in cost of spinal implants until last year
Can an implant, given to patients free of cost in one department, cost nearly Rs 36,000 in a different department in the same hospital? At the Centre-run Safdarjung Hospital, that was the case for years.
While spinal implants were provided for free at the Central Institute of Orthopaedics at Safdarjung Hospital, patients not covered under the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme had to pay for them if the same surgery was conducted in the hospital's neurosurgery department.
This changed in February 2024, when the neurosurgery department started following the same guidelines that were being followed in the orthopaedics department. Mohd Ashfak (37), a patient who got operated upon in the neurosurgery department in 2023 and had to pay for the implant, has now approached the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) with a complaint alleging that he was asked to pay Rs 35,910 for four pedicle screws, four inne (used with the screws) and two rods used during his surgery when the same implant was free in the orthopaedics department.
The CBI spokesperson did not respond to questions regarding the status of the complaint.
Responding to questions posed by The Indian Express, the hospital said, 'Spinal implants have been free since February 2024. Before that, patients covered under the Ayushman Bharat insurance scheme were provided free spinal implants through AMRIT pharmacy, and non-Ayushman Bharat patients had to buy spinal implants.'
Asked why the same implant was provided for free in one department and had to be bought in another, the hospital did not respond. On average, 500 to 600 spinal surgeries are conducted at the neurosurgery department as opposed to 350-400 at the Central Institute of Orthopaedics every year.
In his complaint, Ashfak said he fell from a tree in Delhi in July 2023. He suffered a leg injury and spinal fracture and was rushed to Safdarjung's neurosurgery emergency department, where he was told that he would require surgery. Three days later, he was told to buy spinal implants to be used for surgery.
Ashfak, who works at a meat shop and earns Rs 8,000 per month, lives in Delhi with his wife and four children. He told The Indian Express that he took a loan of Rs 35,000 for the surgery.
He added that during the billing at the hospital, he was told that at the Central Institute of Orthopaedics, the implants are free of cost. He was not informed about this before he bought the implant, he maintained.
Ashfak is not the only patient who had to pay for implants.
Chandrashekhar (48), a security guard in Bihar's Gaya district, also had to pay Rs 35,910 to the hospital for the four screws and two rods.
Chandrashekhar and Mansa have three daughters and a son. 'We had spent all our money on our eldest daughter's wedding… We gradually managed to save money for treatment,' said Mansa, adding that they also borrowed some money from Chandrashekhar's employer and local lenders before reaching Delhi. In all, Mansa said, they spent almost Rs 1.5 lakh on the treatment.
