“The viability of having suggestions may be checked by the Government”, Allahabad HC directes on medical infrastructure in the State.

The Allahabad High Court yesterday took an overview of the health facilities and medical systems management in the State of Uttar Pradesh due to the upsurge in the COVID cases.

The Division Bench of Justices Siddhartha Varma and Ajit Kumar while referring to the death of one Santosh Kumar, who went missing from the District Hospital, Meerut observed that,

“From the narration of facts, as have emerged out from the inquiry, it comes out to be a case of high degree carelessness on the part of the doctors who were on night duty. If this is the state of affairs of treatment at medical College in the city like Meerut then the entire medical system of the State pertaining to the smaller cities and villages can only be taken to be like a famous Hindi saying ‘Ram Bharose’. Surprisingly enough, the action taken was only that there was of just withholding of annual increments of the paramedical staff and the doctors. We are not satisfied the way the State has dealt with this issue.”

The Court in this regard directed that the State needs to take stern action against those responsible, may be they are the highest in the ranks. It should compensate the dependents who have suffered the irreparable loss because of such carelessness. The Additional Chief Secretary (Medical and Health), Government of U.P. was therefore, asked to file an affidavit fixing responsibility in the matter.

Further, the number of tests in the urban areas so far has been 26245 since 31.03.2021 till 12.05.2021 and in rural areas it has been 65491 during the same period. The District Magistrate, Bijnor informed the bench that testing for COVID was being done both by RTPCR and Antigen kit in 60:40 ratio.

“If we have to test 30% of the population i.e. almost 10 lacs in the rural areas of district Bijnor within three month’s time, then we will have to conduct 10000 tests per day, but from the statement made by the District Magistrate we do not see any such robust testing in near future in district Bijnor and condition in other four districts are also same. If this is the state of affairs of five districts, one can guess where we are leading people of this State to i.e. third wave of the pandemic.” – observed the Bench.

The bench directed the State Government to immediately improve and increase the testing methods of the rural population and the population of small cities and towns and also provide sufficient health care infrastructure in compliance of our direction no. 19(iii) of our order dated 27.04.2021.

On the Vaccination issues, the Additional Solicitor General of India Sri S.P. Singh has informed the Court that he has filed a comprehensive affidavit of the Secretary concerned of the Central Government regarding availability of vaccine in the country. The bench further noted that,

1. Such people who might like to buy the vaccines for the have nots, may be allowed to do so and may also be given certain benefits under the Income Tax Act. In the global tenders, the Government after getting the reasonable prices may negotiate with the world manufacturers and try to buy as many vaccines as can be bought from wherever the vaccines are available.
2. Big business houses who take various advantages under the taxation laws by donating to various religious organizations may be asked to divert their funds to vaccines.
3. Since the vaccine producing countries are advocating for expansion of vaccine manufacturing and distribution to meet the challenge of global health crisis caused by COVID pandemic and in that process are agreed to the waiver of intellectual property protection, our central agencies may give the green signal to various manufacturers who have the infrastructure to manufacture the vaccines on a large scale so that they may manufacture vaccines of whichever kind they feel suitable. The vaccines may be first vigorously tested and only thereafter may be given out for use by the public. For this various incentives may be announced.
4. Big medical companies which are working in the country may not have their own vaccines but they may take the formula from just any of the vaccine manufacturers in the world and start producing the vaccine. In this way, they would help the country to meet the shortage of vaccines which it is facing today. For that matter, one cannot understand as to why the Government of ours which is a welfare state is not trying to manufacture the vaccine itself on a large scale.

On medical infrastructure the bench noted that, in these few months we have realized that in the manner it stands today, it is very delicate, fragile and debilitated and directed -

1. All nursing homes should have an oxygen facility on every bed.  
2. Every nursing home/ hospital which has more than 20 beds should have at least 40 per cent beds as Intensive Care Units.
3. Of the designated 40 per cent; 25 per cent should have ventilators, 25 per cent should have High Flow Nasal Cannula and 50 per cent of the 40 per cent reserved beds should have bipap machines. This should be made compulsorily for all the nursing homes/ hospitals in the State of Uttar Pradesh.
4. Every nursing home/ hospital which has more than 30 beds should compulsorily have an oxygen production plant.
5. In the State of Uttar Pradesh, we find that apart from various Institutes like Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute and the Universities like the King George’s Medical University and Banaras Hindu University, we have five more medical colleges in Prayagraj, Agra, Meerut, Kanpur and Gorakhpur. These Colleges should have enhanced facilities as are there with the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute within a period of four months. Emergency laws should be applied for the acquisition of land for them. Funds should be provided to them forthwith so that they graduate from a medical college to an Institute of the standard of the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute. For this there should also be given a certain extent of autonomy.
6. So far as the villages and small urban areas are concerned, they should be given all kinds of pathology facilities and treatments should be made available in Community Health Centres which are at par to the treatment given by Level-2 hospitals in bigger cities. If a patient however becomes serious in the rural areas or in small towns then ambulances with all kinds of Intensive Care Unit facilities should be provided so that the patient can be brought to a hospital which has proper medical facilities in a bigger town.

The Court also directed the appointment of Nodal Officers by the District Judges of districts Bijnor, Bahraich, Barabanki, Shrawasti, Jaunpur, Mainpuri, Mau, Aligarh, Etah, Etawah, Firozabad and Deoria.

These Nodal Officers shall submit their reports within a week’s time in the light of directions contained in our order dated 27.04.2021. The State respondents are also directed to give the details relating to the above districts in terms of our order dated 11.05.2021.

The matter will be next heard on 22nd May, 2021.

Case Title - - In-Re Inhuman Condition At Quarantine Centres And For Providing Better Treatment To Corona Positive v. State of UP