Only locals allowed in Delhi hospitals
NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Sunday beds in hospitals under the Delhi government, and private hospitals — with the exception of those providing specialised surgeries in certain fields — will be reserved for people of Delhi till the Covid-19 crisis subsides, even as he announced that the city’s borders with neighbouring states will be opened on Monday.
People from other states can still be treated in the national capital’s hospitals that come under the central government. These include the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Safdarjung Hospital and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.
On June 1, Kejriwal ordered the closure of Delhi’s borders with Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. On the same day, he sought suggestions from the city’s residents on whether the Capital should open its borders, citing the capacity of Delhi’s health care infrastructure, which he said could get burdened if people from other states were admitted.
Citing the feedback from the city’s residents, Kejriwal said on Sunday that around 750,000 people responded, of whom more than 90% said that hospitals in Delhi should only cater to the residents of the city till the pandemic subsides.
In a digital news briefing, Kejriwal said the government’s move was aimed at “striking a balance” as Delhi opens its borders with neighbouring states at a time when the city-state is reviving business and economic activities, and restarting public transport, even as daily new cases continue to remain over 1,000 in the recent days.
“There will be utter chaos at the hospital’s emergency unit if we were to check the ID card of each patient that lands up here,” said a senior administrative official of a city hospital, asking not to be identified.
Other hospitals said they needed to read the formal order to know the exact details of the directive.
The order had not been issued as of 9.30pm on Sunday. The order is expected to mention a list of documents that makes a person eligible to be treated beds in the
Capital’s reserved hospitals.
“We are yet to get the order, and will be in a position to respond once we get the notification,” said a spokesperson for Apollo Hospital. A Fortis Hospital spokesperson, too, said they awaiting the formal order “and will act according to the details”.
The Delhi government clarified that the directive was not applicable to central government-run hospitals.
Union health minister Harsh Vardhan has said the Centre’s hospitals in Delhi are trying to accommodate as many patients as possible.
The Delhi government, on Wednesday last week, set up a five-member advisory panel headed by Dr Mahesh Verma, vice-chancellor of Indraprastha University, to guide the government with its health care augmentation plan.
Citing the findings of a report submitted by the body to the chief minister’s office on Saturday, Kejriwal said: “The five-member committee found that by the end of June, Delhi will require around 15,000 beds to treat Corona patients. There are around 10,000 beds each in Delhi government and Centre-run hospitals. The committee has also said that if people from other states are given access to Delhi government hospitals, around 9,000 beds can get occupied within three days.”