Arvind Kejriwal warns hospitals engaged in 'black marketing' of COVID-19 beds

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday warned hospitals turning away suspected COVID-19 patients citing lack of beds and said his government will come down heavily on the "mafia" indulging in "black marketing of beds".

Follow live updates on the COVID-19 pandemic here

His strong statement came after reports of some patients finding it difficult to find admission in hospitals even as there are enough beds available in those facilities. The Delhi government will be soon deploying medical professionals at all private hospitals to keep a tab on the available beds for COVID-19 patients.

"We will take strong action against such hospitals. Please give me a few days. I need some time to break the mafia who are indulging in it. These hospitals have political connections but they should not be under illusion that their political masters can save them," Kejirwal said during a digital address.

Without identifying the hospitals, he said some of them are "doing mischief" by refusing admission and demanding lakhs of rupees for alloting beds.

"Some days ago, one person told me that he went to a hospital seeking a bed for COVID-19 patient and the hospital asked Rs two lakh from him. I didn't believe him then. Then some days later on live TV, I saw that patients are being refused beds by some private hospitals. When a TV anchor called up a hospital saying a bed was required for a COVID-19 patient, the hospital said it did not have any beds available. When the anchor pleaded, the hospital asked for Rs 8 lakh to provide a bed," he said.

Kejriwal said his government had earlier this week launched a mobile app to allow people to get to know details of available beds and ventilators. He also claimed that some hospitals are lying about beds even though the information on the app is updated by them.

Asserting that there is no dearth of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, he said not all hospitals are indulging in malpractices but a few. He also said the government is talking to private hospital authorities to ascertain their problems in earmarking 20% of beds for COVID-19 patients.

"As of today, there is no dearth of beds. Against 8,645 total available beds, 4,038 occupied while 4,607 are vacant. These are real beds, not mere figures. As of today, sufficient beds are available," he said adding the government is going to issue an order stating that no COVID-19 suspect patient can be denied treatment on the grounds that he or she has not been tested.

He also refuted reports that COVID-19 testing has been stopped in the capital. Action was taken against only six laboratories for violating guidelines of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) while 36 government and private laboratories are still doing tests.

Kejriwal also appealed asymptomatic people not to rush to tests as it would create obstacles in testing people with symptoms. Only people with symptoms should take tests, he added.