Provide helpline to Covid-19 patients, HC tells Karnataka government

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to ensure a proper mechanism to record the grievances of patients at Covid-19 hospitals.

Observing that the Bengaluru Urban district monitoring committee (BBMP committee) is not in existence, the bench directed the BBMP commissioner to submit the report on visits to the hospitals, the availability of equipment and facilities to the medical staff and the patients.

A division bench, headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka, examined the reports submitted by the state-level expert committee, constituted to monitor the hospitals treating Covid-19 patients. The bench said that barring a few, the information collected by the district committees are not proper. Observing that the report pertaining to hospitals in Bengaluru not placed on record, the bench asked the commissioner to place the report.

The bench said the object of regular inspections is not to find fault with the doctors. “The object is to ensure that the hospitals are best equipped so that the doctors and other staff members who are relentlessly working are able to discharge their duties in a better manner.” The court said it is also important to inspect these hospitals since the Covid-19 patients will not be in a position to register their grievance. “Therefore, the state government must consider providing a helpline to such patients to get in touch with the authorities if he or she is not given proper treatment,” the bench said.

On the availability of oxygen cylinders, the bench directed the state government to ensure proper and equitable distribution of cylinders to all the hospitals, especially in the rural areas. The bench asked the state government to explain how it would implement the order of the Union Government (September 25, 2020), regulating the price of the oxygen.