The Fight For Beds

In a laudable order, the Delhi High Court has asked 33 private hospitals to reserve 80 percent of ICU beds for coronavirus patients. It vacated an earlier stay, noting that the ground reality had “radically changed”

- Dr KK Aggarwal

A division bench of the Delhi High Court on November 12, 2020, vacated an order that had stayed the Delhi government’s direction to 33 private hospitals to reserve 80 percent ICU beds for Covid19 patients.

The order by Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad in Government of NCT of Delhi through Director General Health Services versus Association of Healthcare Providers (India) & Anr., came as relief to the Delhi government, which on September 12, 2020, had issued a direction to these hospitals to reserve 80 percent of ICU and High Dependency Unit (HDU) beds for Co vid-19 patients with immediate effect.

Being aggrieved by the direction, the Association of Healthcare Providers (India) filed a writ petition before a single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court. The Court on September 22, 2020, had stayed the operation of the September 12 direction of the state government and also said that if some nonCovid-19 patients were admitted in more than 20 percent of the ICU/HDU beds, then on their being discharged, these beds should be kept reserved for Covid-19 patients only. The said hospitals have also been permitted to temporarily increase their total bed capacity (non-ICU) up to 30 percent. Being aggrieved by the stay order of the Court, the Delhi Government filed an appeal and the two-judge bench then vacated the stay order.