BENGALURU: In the wake of increasing number of Covid cases and rush in hospitals, the state government, under the Disaster Management Act, on Monday directed all private medical colleges to reserve beds for government-referred patients. The orders, signed by Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar, who is also Chairman of the state executive committee, SDMA, stated: “75 per cent of beds in private medical college hospitals having facilities to treat Covid-19 patients shall be reserved for the treatment of patients referred by public health authorities.
This will include the HDU and ICU beds both with and without ventilators.” This is apart from private hospitals, who have been directed to reserve 50 per cent of their beds, under each category, for government-referred Covid-19 patients. The state government on April 6 had directed all private hospitals to reserve 50 per cent of their beds for government referred Covid19 patients.
The order added that non- adherence or compliance will lead to action under Section 51-60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 apart from legal action action under Indian Penal Code and other legal provisions. A senior official from the health department said, “Due to shortage of beds in private hospitals and they not cooperating with the government in extending their support, this was required. If need be, we will ask the government to increase the percentage of reservation in hospitals also in the days ahead.”