Increase beds, don't turn away dengue patients: Delhi government to private hospitals

NEW DELHI: As the national capital battled the worst outbreak of dengue in the past five years, Delhi Government tonight directed all private hospitals and nursing homes to increase the number of beds, and warned them of strict action if they denied treatment to any dengue patient.

In a meeting with over 1,000 representatives of private hospitals and nursing homes here this evening, Health Minister Satyendar Jain also directed them not to sell any medicine which might affect the platelet count.

The minister told the private health facilities that is they increase the bed strength, the government is ready to relax rules about the ratio of beds in a particular area till November 15.

Following reports of alleged refusal by private hospitals to admit dengue patients, Jain called the meeting with administrators of all private hospitals and nursing homes in the city.

The dengue menace continued to rattle Delhi with a six-year-old boy and a woman succumbing to the vector-borne disease, raising the toll to 11 today even as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said his government was mulling bringing a law to enable temporary takeover of private hospitals during emergencies.

As hospitals across Delhi continued to be inundated with dengue patients, the Delhi Cabinet held an emergency meeting which reviewed the deteriorating situation. It also explored various options to ensure that private hospitals do not refuse to admit dengue patients.