Pune: A delegation of Congress party leaders met Special Officer Saurabh Rao in Divisional Commissioner Office and demanded that strict action should be taken against erring hospitals who are denying treatment to patients amid the Covid-19 outbreak crisis. The delegation has also demanded that a special help desk should be set up at each hospital to assist the patients in getting beds in other hospitals if the concerned hospital is unable to provide one.
“Hospitals are not following government norms and directives and are denying admission to several patients. These hospitals are responsible for the death of several patients reported in the city in the last few days. Strict action should be taken against such hospitals,” the delegation stated.
The delegation included former leader of the party in Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and corporator Arvind Shinde, Corporator Ajit Darekar, Mehboob Nadaf and Sujit Yadav. The delegation also handed a copy of their demand letter to Rao.
In their letter, the delegation states, “The coronavirus outbreak is getting serious and it would likely to worsen in the near future. There is a shortage of ventilators and oxygen beds in several hospitals in the city. The administration should immediately coordinate with the hospitals, doctors and medical experts to arrange for additional ventilators, ICU and oxygen beds, testing vans and other facilities for the patients.”
“If any hospital has a shortage of ventilator and oxygen beds, then their staff should coordinate with other hospitals and arrange for a bed for the patient, instead of asking the patient and their relatives to run pillar to post in search of one. The hospitals should set up special help desks for this coordination with other hospitals. Also the PMC should appoint a dedicated officer in each hospital who would have accurate information about the available number of ICU, oxygen and ventilator beds in the hospital,” the delegation has demanded.
