Gujarat HC warns of Action if deliberate vacancy of COVID beds found

Gandhinagar: Taking a serious note of its amicus curiae reporting that the Ahmedabad Civil Hospital has been keeping some Covid-19 beds vacant deliberately, the Gujarat High Court warned the state's top health official of action if this was found to be true.

Brijesh Trivedi, the amicus curiae in the Covid-19 issue taken up by the court suo moto, made a shocking observation that the hospital was keeping some beds deliberately vacant, despite patients needing it, so as to ease the pressure and burden of working.

A bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice J.B. Pardiwala said: "This is serious, and if it is true, then we warn the Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department of Gujarat government, that appropriate action will be taken."

Hearing a number of petitions filed in conjunction with the suo moto case on the Covid-19 situation in Gujarat, the court has sought response of the state government on various issues raised in the petitions filed by various applicants.

It has also directed the state government to ensure some points raised in the PILs, especially ensuring that each of the private hospitals display, near the reception table, the charges fixed by the state government for Covid-19 testing and treatment.

It has also directed the government to give publicity in daily newspapers, vernacular as well as English, and inform the medical associations in the state, of the eligibility criteria and procedures for private labs to obtain ICMR approval for conducting Covid-19 tests. All such private labs shall be granted approval from the ICMR in seven days, and similarly, the NABL accreditation is also to be granted in seven days.

The court has also questioned the state government with regards to the discharge policy of cured Covid-19 patients prevailing on date, asking whether it would be in larger interest of the public that patients are tested one last time before their actual discharge.

It has also sought a response from the state government regarding testing of all medical practitioners and frontline health workers without the need of any prescription, as the apex court has also declared that anyone who desires, should be permitted to be tested and the state government was bound to implement the same more particularly with respect to medical practitioners and frontline health workers.

The court also expressed dissatisfaction over Ahmedabad authorities seeking an explanation from the Rajasthan Hospital, regarding death of a patient waiting for admission and have directed the authorities concerned to lodge an FIR and take strict action against those responsible at the hospital for the death of the patient who was in dire need of a ventilator.

The court has also directed that all undertrials who have been released on bail on recommendation of the high powered committee, shall continue to remain on bail for a further period of 75 days and the bails have been extended from June 15 to August 31.

The interim orders of the high court and lower courts have also extended upto August 31.

Further, the high court has also directed the state government to regulate the timings of online teaching imparted by various schools across the state, so that different students from a single family can avail education. It has directed to also consider the age of the children who are being imparted online education.

The state government was also told to take up the issues like private schools charging the students for transportation, sports, term fees, meals, medical, SMS, IT and other curricular activities when the schools are non-functional during the month of April, May and June, until the schools reopens. The government has also been directed to look into schools charging quarterly fees instead of monthly fees.

The next hearing has been slated for July 17.

--IANS

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