Hyderabad: A whopping Rs 6 lakh bill for treating a snakebite, which was issued by the Rush Hospitals at Suchitra crossroad  on  Medchal Highway, led to police  being called.
 
A casual worker of a manufacturing unit on the Medchal Highway  was bitten by a snake  when  he went to pick up a tool on the gangway.  Workers rushed him to the nearby clinic. But they told to take the patient to a super-speciality hospital.
 
Manoj Kumar, manager of the unit, said,  “The doctors said he would have to  stay in hospital for three days and the treatment would cost Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. We agreed as saving the worker’s life was important.”
 
The patient was admitted on December 18 and until  December 23, each day, he was given 20 vials of anti-venom. Mr Kumar said, “How can an individual take so much anti-venom? We didn’t  know how much venom had gone into his body.”
 
After paying Rs 3.5 lakh, the company officers  began  making inquiries  with other  doctors  about the treatment in snakebite cases. “We realised that we were being cheated and got another doctor to check our worker. Our doctor claimed he was fit and fine.
 
We asked the hospital to  allow us to take the patient to Gandhi Hospital. But they threatened us and demanded that we give in writing that we would be responsible if anything happens to the patient.”
 
The company registered a complaint with the Petbasheerabad police station. The police visited the patient in hospital and asked  hospital authorities not to trouble the him. With the bills not settled, the hospital is unwilling to release the patient and the police has asked the doctors to ascertain his “real” status, and, if  required, shift him to Gandhi Hospital.  Despite attempts,  no one from Rush Hospital, was available for comment.