Delhi hospitals to display number of beds, room charges, orders Lt Guv Baijal

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority, headed by Lt Guv Baijal, also directed that there will be surprise checks against the hospitals and cautioned against turning away “genuine” patients.

All major Delhi hospitals will have to prominently display the availability of beds, the room charges outside their establishments in large letters on the LED boards, ordered Lt Governor Anil Baijal in a move aimed at increasing “transparency and to facilitate public”.

The state health department has been advised to ensure that the data displayed on these boards is in sync with the data on the government portal. (File photo)

The state health department has been advised to ensure that the data displayed on these boards is in sync with the data on the government portal.

Hindustan Times had first reported the Lt Governor’s order earlier on Wednesday

“All major hospitals/clinics/nursing homes of Delhi should be directed to display on LED boards in large letters outside their establishments, at the entry point itself,the availability of beds (both Covid and non-Covid), along with charges including for rooms and details of the contact persons for admission,” read the order from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority.

The disaster body, headed by Lt Guv Baijal, also directed that there will be surprise checks against the hospitals and cautioned against turning away “genuine” patients.

Earlier in the day, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, underscoring that it is not the time for disagreements, said Lt Guv’s decision to not reserve hospitals exclusively for Delhi residents for Covid-19 treatment will be followed in “letter and spirit”.

On Monday, the L-G overruled the state government’s decision to reserve hospitals, except those run by the centre, for residents of Delhi. The state government’s decision to test only those showing symptoms of Covid-19 was also overturned, allowing asymptomatic cases and high-risk contacts of a virus patient to be tested.

In a letter, the L-G’s office said that “Delhi belongs to all” and that none can be denied treatment for not being a resident of the national capital.

According to the Delhi government’s projection, there will be 44,000 cases by June 15, one lakh cases by June 30 going up to 2.25 lakh cases by July 15 and 5.5 lakh cases by July 31.