COVID-19:AAP govt in HC on issue to reserve 80 percent ICU beds in pvt hospitals

Seeking setting aside of the single judge order, the Delhi government has alleged that the association's petition was "masked" as a plea to secure interests of non-COVID patients, "whereas in reality, the same has been preferred on behalf of private nursing homes and hospitals solely to look out for and secure their own financial interests". The Delhi government has further stated that its September 12 decision does not in any manner take away any person's right to be treated for any disease or ailment other than COVID-19 and that the direction was issued in public interest.

The AAP government has challenged in the Delhi High Court its single judge order staying the reservation of 80 per cent ICU beds for COVID-19 patients. The single judge on September 22 had stayed the Delhi government's September 12 direction to 33 private hospitals to reserve 80 per cent of ICU beds for COVID-19 patients and asked whether other patients had a right to life.

The appeal is listed for hearing on Friday before a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan. The Delhi government in its appeal, moved through its additional standing counsel Sanjoy Ghose and advocate Urvi Mohan, has contended that the single judge did not appreciate its submissions regarding the surge in the number of COVID-19 patients and dynamic efforts being undertaken by it to tackle the ever-changing nature of the situation in the national capital due to the pandemic.

The September 22 order had come on a plea by the Association of Healthcare Providers which had challenged the September 12 direction of the Delhi government. Seeking setting aside of the single judge order, the Delhi government has alleged that the association's petition was "masked" as a plea to secure interests of non-COVID patients, "whereas in reality, the same has been preferred on behalf of private nursing homes and hospitals solely to look out for and secure their own financial interests".

The Delhi government has further stated that its September 12 decision does not in any manner take away any person's right to be treated for any disease or ailment other than COVID-19 and that the direction was issued in public interest. The single judge, while staying the direction, had said that the Delhi government's decision "appears to be arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of fundamental rights of citizens" guaranteed under the Constitution.

"Do other patients have a right to life or not or is it now that the state says only COVID-19 patients have a right to life. This is making my blood boil. The patient is not going there for a holiday, he is going there in an emergency. "Why do you (Delhi government) discriminate between the two (COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients)? Why do you have to keep an ICU bed vacant for COVID-19 patient and the other one in need can die? A person has got a heart attack and you are saying he should die on the road," the judge had said.

The Delhi government, in its appeal, has said that several of the 33 hospitals were operating as fully COVID-19 hospitals..

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