[COVID-19] Instead of helping patients in crisis, State creating further complications by not giving accurate data: Gujarat High Court

While continuing to monitor the State's response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Gujarat High Court recently stressed on the need for accurate and real-time data on availability of hospital beds..In its order passed on Tuesday, the Bench of Chief Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Bhargav Karia noted that it had previously directed the government to manage a portal reflecting real-time data on the availability of beds in the State..However, noting that the affidavit filed by the State did not address the issue, the Court said,"If this information is made available of all the hospitals, which include the Government, Corporation, Designated and private hospitals, it would become much more transparent and easier for the patients and their attendants. When the patients and the attendants are already in a state of crisis struggling for survival, the Government and the Corporation instead of helping them create further complications by not giving accurate data, then nothing can be more worse.".The order passed by the Court also dealt with issues relating to RT-PCR testing, procurement and policy for distribution of Remdesivir and other drugs, procurement and allocation of oxygen, the policy regarding 108 Ambulances, and augmentation of further infrastructure to prepare for future upsurges in COVID-19 cases..RT-PCR Testing.The Court was informed that 28 RT-PCR machines have reached and will be shortly installed and made functional. Further, 10 more machines were dispatched on Tuesday, and 6 new orders have been placed..Taking note of the State's claim of increased testing, the Court said,"The number of tests conducted per day as has been indicated in the affidavit appears to be increased drastically, but no justification has been given as to how these numbers have been increased when the laboratories are not increased nor new machines have been installed.".The Court further stated that the affidavit has not mentioned how much time is being taken to get RT-PCR test reports. The State is required to inform the Court on the same in its next affidavit..108 Ambulances.The government clarified that in all the Government Civil Hospitals, patients arriving in private vehicles as well as 108 Ambulances were being admitted, irrespective of whether or not they had an antigen test or RT-PCR report. It also averred that 108 Ambulance service was the only modality through which a patient could get admission in Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation hospitals and government quota in 162 designated private hospitals.Taking objection to this, the Court said in its order,"Why the State is not exercising its authority. There is no answer and why should the Corporation have a different policy than the State is also not understood nor the same is amenable to any reasonable justification.".During the hearing, the Court was informed by various counsel that patients who had come to hospitals in their own vehicles were not attended to, and that many of them lost their lives waiting outside and begging for treatment. The Court also noted that in Ahmedabad, the time between the receipt of a 108 call and the patient reaching the hospital was more than 4 hours. It thus observed,"So in such circumstances of delay in the 108 Ambulance reaching the patient for picking up, if the attendants and patients reach the hospital in privately arranged vehicles, there can be no justification for not treating such patients and not admitting them if beds are available..."The Court thus directed government, corporation, designated and private hospitals to attend all patients reaching them..Advocate General Kamal Trivedi had submitted that a triage procedure - wherein patients who reach hospitals are checked by doctors and advised further course of action - was in place. However, the Court said that it did not find details of the triage procedure in the State's affidavit, as a result of which long queues of 108 ambulances and other private vehicles still exist at government hospitals, causing further misery to those inside the ambulance and those who are waiting for the ambulances. "It would thus be appropriate that necessary directions are issued by the State and Corporation to all its hospitals and also to designated hospitals that triages are established where medical team immediately attends to the patients reaching such facilities and thereafter they are accordingly disbursed to their respective places for follow up of further course of treatment," the order states..Remdesivir.The order states,"We can understand that with the limited resources or the limited number of Remdesivir injections available with the State as per the allocation, distribution is to be made, but such distribution should be through uniform State-wide policy with transparency to ensure that the most critical and needy patients get it first rather than it being distributed on the basis of priority to Government hospitals or Corporation hospitals and then to designated hospitals and thereafter to private hospitals. Such information is lacking in the affidavit. Let the same be incorporated in the affidavit in reply that may be filed by the State.".Oxygen supply.The Court said that it had nothing to comment on the supply of oxygen, as the Central government was monitoring the same."However, the State must speed up and find out other alternatives for manufacture of Oxygen for medical use. The PSA plants which are not functional to be made functional at the earliest," the order reads..On the question of infrastructure to cope with the pandemic, the Court took on board a submission that there was a requirement of more beds in view of the upsurge in cases. Further,"We require the State to consider this aspect seriously when in the previous round of the first phase 50% beds had been allocated in designated hospitals as Government quota, then why only 20% this time.".The Court ordered the State to address the issues highlighted "on a war footing at breakneck speed." It further warned that anyone found violating and not complying with the directions of the State would be adequately dealt with in accordance with law..The State is required to file its affidavit by May 3. The order also states,"The next affidavit in reply of the State will also take into consideration the various suggestions given by the learned counsels appearing in the matter in addition to the observations and directions given by the Court. We make it clear that we want the details of the entire State of Gujarat and the status of every district rather than focusing only on Ahmedabad. This was clarified in the earlier orders also.".The matter will be next heard on May 4 at 11:00 am..AG Trivedi was assisted by Government Pleader Manisha Lavkumar and Assistant Government Pleader Dharmesh Devnani. Senior Advocate Percy Kavina, assisted by Advocate Rasesh Parikh, appeared for the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association.Senior Advocate Shalin Mehta, assisted by Advocate Pranjal Buch, as well as Advocates Amit Panchal, Anand Yagnik, and Aum Kotwal appeared for various intervenors..[Read the order]