Treat plea challenging order on reserving part of hospitals for Covid care as representation: HC to govt

The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the government to treat a plea challenging its order that all private hospitals/nursing homes in the city with a bed capacity

The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the government to treat a plea challenging its order that all private hospitals/nursing homes in the city with a bed capacity of 50 or more should reserve 20% capacity for the treatment of Covid-19 patients, as a representation contending that hospitals would further spread infection due to the difficulty of segregating patients.

HT Image

A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan asked the petitioner Kaushal Kant Mishra, an orthopaedic surgeon, to give a representation to the government, which would be dealt with in accordance with the law and guidelines. The court disposed of the plea that contended that the said order of the government was “arbitrary” and in violation of the Indian Constitution as it would lead to the hospitals becoming further spreaders of infection.

The plea, filed through advocate Pooja Dhar, stated that most of the 117 hospitals or nursing homes covered in this order are designed as single buildings, and not separate blocks, where Covid-19 patients cannot be effectively segregated from other patients.

“Challenges start from common entry and exit point, common lobby, common lifts, common washrooms, etc, which are used by all patients whether Covid-19 or not. This definitely increases the risks of infection, despite the facility taking all possible care of reducing intermingling [sic],” the plea said.

The petitioner suggested that it would be better to take over a complete hospital rather than reserving only 20% beds as stated by the government in its order. The plea also said that each hospital can also dedicate one ambulance with emergency care in case any Covid-19 patient needing hospitalisation arrives.

“A more effective solution would be to create new centres dedicated to the treatment of Covid-19 patients, such as hotels, banquet halls, stadiums, etc., which will result in the treatment of Covid-19 patients in a segregated environment and avoid the risk of infection to non-Covid-19 patients,” the plea said.