Delhi govt to buy 1K new beds for dengue patients; lists tough steps

The Delhi government has ordered that 1,000 new beds be bought to accommodate dengue patients in the wake of the suicide by the parents of a boy who died of the disease allegedly after being refused admission at several hospitals even as the Delhi Medical Council did not rule out probing the matter that has sparked public outrage here.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain today emphasised the need for immediate steps to arrest the spread of dengue in the city and asked the officials of his department to accord priority to dengue cases with civic data saying that 1,259 cases of these have been reported in the national capital this year till September 5.

While the official toll stands at two, the civic body is yet to include three other reported dengue deaths in its list.

"In the view of the rise in dengue cases, I have ordered that 1,000 new beds be bought within the next three or four days. If hospitals lack space, the new beds can be kept in lobbies or wherever space is available," Jain told PTI after a with health secretary, divisional commissioner and directors of local bodies.

Jain issued directions to all DMs, SDMs and tehsildars to closely monitor dengue cases in their wards and suggested that, if possible, the hospitals may postpone surgeries to free up beds for dengue patients.

While urging wider efforts for containing, Jain also accused the three municipal corporations of neglecting the work of mosquito control and said "the government will take strict action against those who do not work properly".

Earlier, alleging that the government had failed to make proper arrangements for dengue patients, some people tried to stop the AAP minister's vehicle when he went for an inspection at Sanjay Gandhi Hospital.

Meanwhile, following the tragic case of the parents of the seven-year-old dengue victim committing suicide by jumping from a four-storeyed building in south Delhi's Lado Sarai, Delhi Medical Council today said that if a state government inquiry points to any negligence on the part of doctors, they will look into the matter.

The child is said to have been refused admission at five hospitals in the city. "As of now, the role of the hospitals' administrations is in question regarding the refusal of admission to the child.

"Delhi government has already ordered an inquiry into the matter. If their report highlights the involvement of any doctor, then we will probe the matter," said DMC Registrar Girish Tyagi.

Tyagi further said that prima facie it seems that the boy could perhaps have been saved had he received timely treatment.

"He should have been admitted and put on IV fluids. That would have stabilised his condition to some extent. However, I have not seen the papers, so I cannot say with certainty," he added.

The dengue scenario, meanwhile, saw Congress today attack the Centre and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying the two were "squabbling like children" when a seven-year-old boy had died due to lack of treatment in the national capital.

"Is this the treatment given to 'aam aadmi' jointly by Kejriwal and Delhi Lt Governor (Najeeb Jung), who are fighting like children when a child dies fighting a disease in absence of hospital beds in the Delhi.

"Cheap politics between Centre and Delhi government is reprehensible and condemnable," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi told reporters here.

The deceased couple, Laxmichandra and Babita Rout, both natives of Odisha, committed suicide on Wednesday morning, a day after their only son Avinash died of suspected dengue.

The parents of the boy had knocked at the doors of five private hospitals throughout September 7 before being given admission at 11 P.M. by Batra hospital.

The five hospitals, including Max hospital in Saket, Moolchand Khairatiram Hospital in Lajpat Nagar and Aakash Hospital in Malviya Nagar have been issued show cause notices to explain within a month why their registration should not be cancelled for allegedly refusing to admit the boy, Jain said.

The other two hospitals are Saket City Hospital and Irene Hospital, Kalkaji. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said strict action will be taken against the hospitals which refused admission to the boy.

"It is completely unacceptable that some hospitals didn't accept a patient and he died. Strict action would be taken against them," he tweeted.

The Delhi health minister today said that "the number of dengue cases have increased... we do not deny that they are two patients in one bed, but hospital staff are working hard".
The aim, he added, was to "work more on prevention because not much has been done regarding this", he said, adding that "people should get admitted to hospital only after consulting a doctor and not out of panic".

It was learnt that authorities are planning to deploy more doctors and technicians at tertiary care hospitals to deal with the dengue situation.

"Family members of some patients allege that doctors are not paying proper attention to them, which is mainly due to the huge rush of people seeking treatment for dengue," said a doctor at GB Pant hospital.

"The current strength of doctors, paramedics and technicians is proving to be inadequate for dealing with the increasing number of patients," said another doctor from Lok Nayak hospital.

Medical colleges in the city like AIIMS, RML, Lady Hardinge and Safdarjung have started putting their faculties on night duty to ensure proper treatment to patients.

Delhi government has issued advisories to the five regional branches -- Central, East, North, West and South Delhi -- for reorganising staff across the hospitals while the Directorate of Health Services has sent an advisory to all government and private hospitals directing them not to deny admission to patients affected by the vector-borne disease.