80% ICU beds in Delhi reserved for COVID-19 patients? Petition against Delhi govt’s order

ICU bed reservation in Delhi: Petition in Delhi High Court against reservation of ICU beds for COVID-19 patients! The Delhi government had passed an order directing 33 big private hospitals in the city to reserve 80% of their ICU beds for patients of COVID-19. The Association of Healthcare Providers India (AHPI) has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court against this order, according to a report in IE. The petition was filed after the AHPI reached out to the state government and requested them to roll back the order.

In its petition, the association sought the revocation of the government order, saying that the decision was leading to exposure of non-COVID-19 patients to the risk of infection that has caused a global pandemic. The report further said that the association claimed the order was issued without it being discussed with private hospitals previously, and it ignored the needs of patients suffering from other illnesses needing critical care. The association claimed that this was gross injustice.

The government had passed the order keeping in view the surge in cases of COVID-19. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had, at the time of announcement, said that the decision was taken after having a consultation with all private hospitals.

In the writ petition, the association further stated that at present, 45% to 55% of the patients admitted in private hospitals were non-COVID-19 patients, and some of them had been kept in the ICU after their procedures. Reservation of ICU beds for COVID-19 patients would translate into hospitals either not admitting non-COVID patients, which could pose fatal risk for patients who need immediate surgical interventions, or the hospitals would accept “sub-optimal outcomes”. While both of these might not have been the intended purpose of the order, the association said, they would be direct consequences of it.

In a virtual conference by the AHPI last week, the body said that the order was arbitrary, seeking a roll back as it would cause serious repercussions for patients suffering from other illnesses, the report stated.

The report further quoted AHPI Director Dr Girdhar Gyani as saying that the private hospitals routinely got patients who suffered from grievous injuries, heart attacks, complex fractures, acute pulmonary disorders, cancer and transplant cases. These required urgent care and interventions, the doctor added.