Would've defied medical ethics to not give EWS beds to all in pandemic: HC

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has refused to entertain a contempt petition filed before it, that alleged that the required reservation for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) patients was not maintained at hospitals during the ongoing Covid pandemic.

While allowing the petitioner to withdraw their petition, Justice Najmi Waziri of the Delhi High Court held, "It is common knowledge that during the second phase of the pandemic there was absolute emergency and dearth of beds, therefore, whoever came to the hospitals was first accommodated and attended to. Not doing so would have been against the medical ethics."

Significantly, the petition argued that the 2007 orders of the High Court with respect to reservation of government hospital beds and those in private hospitals built on concessionaire land from the government, were not being followed throughout the pandemic. The 2007 order had included nursing homes as well and held that they must provide free treatment to indigent people to the degree of 10 per cent of IPD beds and 25 per cent of patients in OPD.

After the petitioner agreed to withdraw the petition, the court noted, "In view of the above, the petition, along with pending applications, is dismissed as withdrawn with liberty to the petitioner to pursue legal remedies in altered circumstances."

Significantly, a different bench of the Delhi High Court had recently upheld the reservation of hospital beds across facilities for government servants and officials after noting that the entire government machinery would have fallen apart if government officials managing the pandemic by risking their lives did not have the security that they would be taken care of.

The court had held that their roles in keeping the government running in these trying times had necessitated a certain degree of reservation of hospital beds.