Delhi govt defends its decision to reserve 80 pc ICU beds for COVID-19 patients before HC

Aam Aadmi Party Government defended its decision to reserve 80 per cent ICU capacity exclusively for COVID-19 patients in private hospitals before Delhi High Court on Friday and said that plea filed by private hospital association was an attempt to secure the financial interests of the member hospitals.

Countering the petition filed by Association of Healthcare Providers India challenging the local government decision, the Delhi Government said, "The association plea is wholly misplaced, baseless and an attempt on the part of the petitioner to mislead the court and looking to secure the financial interests of the member hospitals under the garb of expressing masked concerns over securing healthcare facilities for Non-Covid patients, to be able to levy arbitrary and exorbitant medical treatment fee and other such charges from critical COVID-19 patients."

In an affidavit filed through Delhi Government Standing Counsel Sanjoy Ghose and advocate Urvi Mohan, the government reiterated that the decision only covers 33 subject private hospitals and nursing homes, out of over 1,150 private nursing homes and hospitals across the national capital city.

"It is relevant to reiterate that the decision to issue and implement the GNCTD Order was in fact, taken after prior discussion and intimation to all subject 33 hospitals, during a meeting held over video conferencing. It is also relevant to note during this meeting, wherein over 25 of the 33 subject hospitals had participated, none of the hospitals protested and/or objected to the said decision of the Answering Respondent. All averments of the Petitioner association suggesting anything to the contrary, are therefore liable to be rejected at the outset," the government's affidavit read.

The government said that the pandemic is a dynamic crisis which needs to be dealt with by the state authorities on a real-time basis.

The Delhi Government urged the Delhi High Court to dismiss the petition filed by Association of Healthcare Providers India as it deserves no consideration. However Delhi Government submitted that it is always ready, willing and duty bound to abide by all directions passed by the court, from time to time.

A single-judge bench of Justice Navin Chawla asked the Association of Healthcare Providers India to file rejoinder on the plea and listed the matter for November 18.

The single-judge bench had issued the interim stay on a petition filed by the Association of Healthcare Providers India through advocates Sanyam Khetarpal and Narita Yadav claiming that the Delhi government order was passed in an arbitrary, unfair and illegal manner without realizing the difficulties that may be faced by private nursing homes and hospitals.

It also stated that the order has been issued without any prior discussions with private hospitals to understand the current demand-supply situation of critical care beds. The plea also stated that the order is exposing non-COVID-19 patients to the risk of COVID-19.

"Reserving 80 per cent ICU beds will deny urgent care to seriously ill patients, requiring vital surgical interventions and critical care. These beds, which may constitute 15 per cent to 20 per cent of overall ICU bed capacity in some of the hospitals, are not usable for COVID-19 patients since very rarely does a COVID-19 patient of that age requires critical care," the plea had said.

( With inputs from ANI )