Lucknow: A Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday raised serious concerns over the shortage of ventilators in hospitals, observing that statistical claims hold little value if critical care equipment is not accessible to patients in time.
Hearing a PIL, a division bench of Justices Rajan Roy and Manjive Shukla questioned whether any hospital could state on affidavit that a ventilator would be provided promptly whenever required.
The court remarked that if such assurance cannot be given, the data submitted on ventilator availability becomes meaningless.
The bench stressed that the focus should be on ensuring adequate availability of ventilators so that no life is lost due to their shortage.
It expressed dissatisfaction with the figures placed before it, noting that there was an apparent absence of a mechanism to assess actual demand and determine the number of ventilators required for life-saving treatment.
The court asked the state government to clarify the proportion of the state budget allocated to healthcare and provide details regarding the status of medical infrastructure.
It also directed the state to revisit its approach and not remain satisfied with merely meeting the minimum norms prescribed by the National Medical Commission (NMC), such as maintaining ventilators equivalent to 10-15 per cent of hospital beds.
During the hearing, the bench also sought information from the state on whether any regulatory framework exists to govern private hospitals and clinics, particularly with regard to the fees charged for treatment and monitoring of services.
Notices have been issued to the NMC and the central government, making them parties to the case. The matter has been posted for further hearing on May 25.
The court further observed that super-speciality healthcare facilities should not remain confined to Lucknow but be expanded to other districts.
It also flagged concerns over the low salaries of government doctors, noting that this leads to migration towards private hospitals, thereby affecting public healthcare services.
