Arvind Kejriwal Warns Pvt Hospitals Against Black Marketing Beds

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday, warned private hospitals in the state against black marketing beds. The Delhi Chief Minister said that hospitals cannot refuse admission to suspected COVID-19 patients.

Kejriwal denied that there was no dearth of beds in hospitals. The Delhi Chief Minister pointed out that the state government had launched an App last Tuesday on the availability of beds in hospitals. Arvind Kejriwal asserted that it is the hospitals which are updating the status of availability of beds. They have access to the passwords and are supposed to give the correct status, he said. Kejriwal further said that some of the hospitals claim there are no beds, while the app states that beds are available there. 20% of beds in private hospitals should be set aside for COVID-19 patients, Kejriwal further said.

The Delhi Chief Minister said that government officials will summon hospital authorities and tell them sternly that they cannot deny admission to suspected COVID-19 patients. Arvind Kejriwal further said that a government order would be issued soon with regard to this guideline. The Delhi Chief Minister pointed out that it was the duty of hospitals to test suspected COVID-19 patients.

Arvind Kejriwal appealed to asymptomatic patients not to go in for testing.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain told the media that 8,500 beds were currently available in the national capital and that 45% of the bed strength in Delhi were currently occupied. He added that as of now, there was no dearth of beds in hospitals of Delhi.

Several complaints had been coming in on denial of admission of suspected COVID-19 to private hospitals in Delhi.Social media is filled with posts complaining about patients of coronavirus having to run from pillar to post for admission.