Prudent for medicos, patients to defer elective surgeries: Govt to HC

Advocate Satyakam, additional standing counsel of the Delhi government, told Justice Najmi Waziri, told the court that special measures had been undertaken and the government needed to be extra cautious of not exposing its already constrained resources for further tests for elective procedures.

The Delhi government has informed the Delhi High Court that it would be prudent for both patients and medical professionals to defer elective surgeries to a stage where the spread of pandemic is manageable and under better control, after a plea was filed seeking testing of asymptomatic patients going for surgeries.

A health worker in protective suit listens to people standing in a queue for COVID 19 test at Sir Ganga Ram hospital in New Delhi. (AP)

Advocate Satyakam, additional standing counsel of the Delhi government, told Justice Najmi Waziri, told the court that special measures had been undertaken and the government needed to be extra cautious of not exposing its already constrained resources for further tests for elective procedures.

He submitted that nevertheless, in the last few days, the facility of testing labs/centres had been augmented and private hospitals too had been permitted to carry out Covid-19 test.

The counsel for All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said that at the moment, the capacity of the state to undertake Covid-19 tests is already stretched and therefore it would be prudent for all parties, including medical professionals, to defer elective procedures.

The court was hearing a plea filed by an ENT doctor Manni Hingorani, through her counsel Aman Hingorani, contending that non-testing of the asymptomatic patients going for surgery would not only increase the risk to the patient but also expose the doctors, nurses and other hospital staff to the danger of contracting the virus.

“For emergency and elective surgery, the procedure has already been duly defined in the circular issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, on June 3,” the counsels for both the Delhi government and AIIMS submitted.