Delhi chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, has indicated that his government may call for special assembly session to enact a new legislation whereby hospitals who refuse ‘healthcare to patients can be punished.’
Talking to reporters in Delhi on Tuesday, Kejriwal said, “We might hold a special assembly session to bring in the law wherein hospitals who refuse healthcare to patients can be punished.”
He said he had ordered the heath ministry arrange for extra beds to deal with the growing dengue crisis and anyone refusing healthcare to patients will not be ‘spared.’
He added, “We are arranging extra beds in hospitals, and space near the hospital where patients can be treated.
Hospitals which refuse healthcare to patients will not be spared.”
Earlier, while speaking at a function, he had attacked the private hospitals, who he accused of being greedy at the cost of humanity.
He had said, “Hum apne profit kamaaney ki daud me itne andhe na ho jayein, ki insaaniyat kho baithien. Agar wo hospital ek bacche ka ilaaj kardeta to kya hota, kya unka profit margin kam ho jata. (In our quest to earn money, we have become so blind that we have forgotten about humanity. If that hospital had treated one child, would it have lessened their profit margin?)”
Kejriwal’s statement comes after the reports emerged that another child had died of dengue. Six-year-old Aman died after he was refused admission by several hospitals.
His father said, ” We tried to get admission in Max Saket and Moolchand but were turned away. Finally we got a bed in a private nursing home where they told us on Saturday night that Aman’s condition is deteriorating rapidly and discharged us. The child was rushed to Batra Hospital where he died on Sunday.”
Last week, a seven-year old child had died of Dengue after several hospitals allegedly refused to admit him citing non-availability of beds.
The boy’s parents too later committed suicide by jumping from a multi storeyed building.
Shaken by the developments over the weekend, Satyendar Jain on Monday directed top health and administrative officials of Delhi to ensure effective preventive measures to counter the spread on Dengue and make the residents of national capital aware that there is no cause for panic.
More than 1800 cases of Dengue have been reported in Delhi in 2015, while the disease has already killed six people.