The Delhi High Court said on Wednesday that if around 50 per cent of the ICU beds reserved in private hospitals for COVID-19 patients are lying vacant, the decision to retain 80 per cent of ICU beds for coronavirus patients needs to be reviewed immediately. The high court's remark came on being apprised by the counsel for a private hospitals' association that out of 5,081 ICU beds reserved for COVID-19 patients, 2,360 were vacant as on Tuesday and that there was no justification of continuation of the Delhi government's September 12 order.
Justice Navin Chawla asked the Delhi government to consider the submissions by petitioner 'Association of Healthcare Providers' and file its response before the next date on December 15. During the hearing, Delhi government additional standing counsel Sanjoy Ghose urged the court to take up the matter after 10 days as the COVID-19 situation was improving in the national capital and the government, which was monitoring it, will review the situation after 10 days.
He said a review has to be done on continuation of the September 12 order by which 33 private hospitals were directed to reserve 80 per cent ICU beds for COVID-19 patients in Delhi and added that they were only going by precautionary measures. The submission was opposed by senior advocate Maninder Singh, representing Association of Healthcare Providers, saying it was only delaying tactics and the government would do nothing and there was no application of mind.
He referred to figures of beds in private hospitals, as updated on the Delhi government's website, and said out of a total of 1,527 COVID-19 ICU beds with ventilators and 3,554 COVID-19 beds without ventilators, 508 and 1,852 beds respectively were lying vacant as non December 8. He further submitted that as of now, the vacancy figure is 534 COVID-19 ICU beds with ventilators and 1908 COVID-19 beds without ventilators.
Singh said in case of non-COVID-19 ICU beds, out of 1420, 314 beds are lying vacant and added that therefore, there was no justification of continuation of the earlier order. After going through the data, the high court said, see the figures. If 50 per cent beds are lying vacant, it needs immediate review and not a review after 10 days.
The high court was hearing the association's plea to quash the Delhi government's September 12 order to reserve 80 per cent ICU beds for COVID-19 patients in 33 private hospitals here. The September 12 order of the Delhi government was earlier stayed by the high court on September 22. However, a division of the high court on November 12 vacated the stay order taking into account the change in circumstances since the time the stay order was passed.
The petitioner association had told the high court that the 33 private hospitals are its members and the Delhi government's order shall be quashed as it was passed in an irrational manner and is ex-facie pererse. The ASG, however, had contended that the situation of COVID-19 infection in Delhi has become critical recently and the COVID-19 cases are spiralling and it was critical that 80 per cent of ICU/ HDU beds be reserved for COVID-19 patients in the 33 private hospitals..
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