DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand High Court on Tuesday directed the state government, to supply ventilators to hospitals which are treating COVID-19 patients, within 7 days of the time period.
The order by a division bench of justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ravindra Maithani dated April 21, 2020 said, "We are conscious of the fact that there is definitely a shortage of ventilators as of now, yet when these hospitals had been declared as Dedicated COVID 19 Hospitals and one of the principal requirements of the Dedicated COVID 19 Hospital is that, inter alia, it must have ventilator facility, we fail to understand as to why these Dedicated COVID19 Hospitals are not having any ventilators, as yet".
The bench further added that having made these orders, the court is still conscious of the fact that there may still "be some practical and logistical problem with the State in complying with this order, which may not be in our knowledge".
"If it is so, the state will always be at liberty to bring to our notice for suitable correction/review, in the interest of justice," said the court in the order.
Dushyant Mainali, a practising advocate who filed public interest litigation concerning safety equipment and other essential machines such as ventilator said, "The honourable court has directed the state government to ensure the supply of ventilators in all hospitals in the state within 7-days."
Total of 15 hospitals in the state have been designated to treat COVID-19 infected patients.
Earlier, last week, the HC while hearing public interest litigation asked the state government to apprise the court whether "any additional measures can be incorporated in at least the main and the most frequently visited Government hospitals of the State, so that the doctors who are examining the patients in their OPD are properly protected in these times".