HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court, on Wednesday, asked the State government why it had not issued a fresh GO revising the fee for treatment to COVID-19 at private hospitals.
A bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice B Seshasayan Reddy, was not satisfied with Director of Public Health Dr G Srinvasa Rao's reply that the GO issued last year still held good and asked him to have a new GO issued to which he said he would act accordingly.
The bench said: "Let the GO be posted on the Medical and Health Department’s site and an affidavit filed with the court."
Resuming hearing on PILs filed on measures being taken to combat COVID-19, the bench asked him why the Health Department was cancelling COVID-19 treatment permits of private hospitals instead of getting them to refund the high fees collected from patients.
It said the approach could have been to warn hospitals of cancellation of permits if they did not refund the high fee charged for treatment.The court wondered if hospitals would return the sums after their permits were cancelled, in reply to DPH Dr G Srinivasa Rao's submission that permits of 21 hospitals have been cancelled.
Dr Srinivasa Rao, told the court that during the first wave, the government had ensured refunds of up to Rs 3 crore to patients. The State would ensure that this time too, patients would be refunded. He also submitted to the court that all measures were being taken to prevent the possible occurrence of the third wave of COVID-19.
All beds in hospitals were being equipped with oxygen. Besides steps to set up oxygen plants were also being initiated. Private hospitals have been asked to set up their own oxygen plants and 14 new RT-PCR laboratories will be in place by June 10.