UP: Hospitals turning away Covid-19 patients to be booked under Epidemic Act

LUCKNOW: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday issued directives that heavy fine should be imposed and a case be registered under the Epidemic Act against hospitals refusing admission to Covid-19 patients.
The directive comes two days after TOI reported that despite state government directives that no hospital, Covid or non-Covid in government and private sector will refuse treatment to Covid patients, a number of facilities are reportedly denying treatment even in emergency cases.
“A case will be registered against any hospital which turns down patients. It will be based on the recommendations of the district magistrate and the chief medical officer concerned. The medical education department has issued orders in this regard to all the commissioners, DMs and CMOs in the state,” a government spokesperson said.
Principal secretary (medical education) Alok Kumar said protecting lives of the people was the priority of the government and no negligence on the part of hospital administrations would be tolerated.
Assuring people that there was no shortage of ventilators, bi-level positive airway pressure (BIPAP) and high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) machines in government hospitals and medical colleges, the government spokesperson said it had already been purchased in adequate quantity.He said there were more than 5,000 ventilators, 1,600 HFNC and 1,000 BIPAP machines in medical colleges and hospitals in addition to those in private hospitals.
The government is also ready to purchase more if required, he added.On the availability of oxygen, the spokesperson said several oxygen plants had been set up in medical colleges and hospitals. “Oxygen plants are also being set up in government medical colleges in Saharanpur, Ambedkarnagar, Azamgarh and Banda, and at autonomous state medical colleges in Firozabad, Ayodhya, Basti and Bahraich.
Earlier this week, the medical education department had released about Rs 1.15 crore for oxygen plants.