Recently, the Delhi High Court had to come to the rescue of an 11-year-old boy who needed a liver transplant but could not afford to pay for it, by ordering the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) to provide free treatment to the child.
However, such intervention is rare and most families from poor background are made to run from pillar to post to get proper treatment under the economically weaker section (EWS) category, said activist and advocate Ashok Aggarwal.
In a landmark judgment in May 1996, the Supreme Court had laid down guidelines for hospitals to “ensure immediate medical attention and treatment to patients in real need”.
Constitutional obligation
In the case, now famously known as the ‘Paschim Banga Khet Mazdoor Samity vs State of West Bengal’, the apex court had noted that it was the constitutional obligation of the State “to provide medical aid to preserve human life”.
The case stemmed from an incident in which a man, who suffered severe injuries after falling off a train, was refused treatment by six State hospitals as they had either inadequate medical facilities or didn’t have a vacant bed.
The top court had ruled that despite the financial constraints of State governments in providing these facilities, they could not detach themselves from the constitutional obligation to provide adequate medical services to the people.
“Whatever is necessary for this purpose has to be done,” the Supreme Court had ruled.
It had laid down a set of guidelines which included increasing the facilities for giving specialist treatment at the hospitals at district and sub-division level. The top court had also directed for a centralised communication system so that the patient could be sent immediately to the hospital where a bed is available.
Reserve beds for EWS
Under the prevailing rules, private hospitals have to reserve 10% seats in Indoor Patient Department (IPD) and another 25% in Outdoor Patient Department (OPD).
There are around 650 beds reserved for EWS in 45 identified private hospitals in the city.
The Delhi government had three years back started a real-time information disbursal system on the status of such reserved beds. “But the system has been lying defunct for one and half years,” Mr. Aggarwal said adding: “The people who used to get information through the website are now forced to run around to find vacant beds under the EWS category”.
Mr. Aggarwal also pointed out that over 45% the EWS patients are from other States, who come to the Capital in hopes of getting the best medical treatment.
“Because of the sheer number of patients, it is not always possible for both private and government-run hospitals to accommodate these patients, but it’s the job of the government to increase these facilities in the spirit of their constitutional obligation,” Mr. Aggarwal said.
