Coronavirus: Arvind Kejriwal Warns Delhi Hospitals About Hiding The Number Of Beds Available
New Delhi:
There is no shortage of beds for critical coronavirus patients in Delhi and no one with symptoms should be dismissed, said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today amid criticism and complaints about the social media regarding the alleged lack of attention from hospitals to those who show up to get admitted. Kejriwal said some hospitals are “hurting” and will not be spared.
“Some hospitals deny admission to COVID-19 patients. I warn those who think they will be able to black market beds using the influence of their protectors from other parties, you will not be spared”, a said Mr. Kejriwal.
“Please allow us a few days to resolve the problem. We will investigate and take action against those who refuse patients even when beds are available … Some are involved in the marketing of beds in black,” said the Prime Minister.
The Chief Minister said that the national capital’s health care system would collapse if thousands of asymptomatic people lined up for the test. He said tests should only be done for those with symptoms to avoid overwhelming the health system’s ability to treat people.
Delhi on Friday registered 1,330 new cases of coronavirus, raising the COVID-19 toll in the city beyond 26,000 and the number of deaths due to the disease has risen to 708, authorities said.
Some tweeted that they were forced to run from one hospital to another and refused admission or testing, despite symptoms.
“We launched a mobile application to stop the black marketing of beds. We thought about making transparent the information on the number of beds and ventilators in hospitals. There was an outcry about it as if we had committed a crime “said Mr. Kejriwal.
To date, no shortage of beds. Out of 8,645 beds available in total, 4,038 occupied 4,607 vacant units. These are real beds, not just numbers. To date, enough beds available. But some of them refuse admission. We will not allow their mischief. Give us a few days. Here we are https://t.co/z8SGrRXeiO
– Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 6, 2020
Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Friday that the “problem” was that some hospitals were not updating the data on the Delhi government’s coronavirus tracking app or were distorting the actual data when patients call.
“Patients weren’t receiving hospital data before, which the Delhi Corona app is trying to fix. We are making the hospital bed data real-time soon,” added Jain.
